It Isnt Easy
by Syd and Z
Summary: The SPD rangers are forced to deal with not only Grumm's attempts to rule the world, but matters of the heart as well. Eventual pairings SkySyd, BridgeZ, JackOC Chapter 12 is up. There are some interesting developments.
1. Chapter 1

Title: It Isn't Easy

Disclaimer: We own nothing….Except for Dorianna, and a few lil folks here and there. The song "Cry" is owned by Mandy Moore and all her posse. The rangers and all that belong to Disney.

Note from Becky: Hey folks, well, here it is—the latest fic by Teal and myself. Yes, we will continue to work on our other stories, so don't worry, you will see more chapters of Barely Breathing and After the Fall. Anywhooo, enjoy. Oh, by the way, since they haven't disclosed the ages of the rangers on the show, we figured their ages are as follows:

Sky & Bridge - 21  
Jack - 20  
Syd – 19

Omega-19  
Z - 18

Characters that will pop up later:

Dorianna (original character)-19

Morgana-20

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19-year-old Sydney Drew stood in the recording studio, headphones hanging around her neck. Her manager Stacey Klaus and the mixer Josh Hawthorn were arguing about the last song to go on her next CD. It had been two years since Syd had released her debut album, and the fans demanded more from the already busy teenager. She had been a beauty pageant queen, an Olympian and a rock star all before 18. Shortly after her CD had been released, Syd had enrolled in the SPD Academy, much to the dismay of her parents who had wanted her to continue with her previous jobs. Part of Sydney's contract stated that she needed to shoot some video's and release songs every so often, and then after the hype had died down for her first CD, she was to record a second. This was what she was doing currently. Syd sighed and picked at a spot on her jeans. Finally the door to the sound booth swung open.

"Sydney, we've decided that this last song is going to be your first single." Stacey commented. Syd took a peak at the lyrics in front of her. It was something she'd written after her first album went platinum. The lyrics had come straight from her heart about a boy she utterly adored and truly cared for. She had entitled the song 'Cry'. Syd nodded and the door swung closed. Syd lifted her headphone's back onto her ears and waited for the opening cords to slowly drum into her mind. She closed her eyes and started singing.

"I'll always remember, it was late afternoon  
it lasted forever, and ended so soon.  
You were all by yourself  
staring up at a dark grey sky  
I was changed..."

Syd felt tears pricking behind her eyes as she poured her heart and soul into the song.

"In places no one would find  
All your feelings so deep inside  
was there that I realized  
that forever was in your eyes  
the moment I saw you cry."

Syd remembered the day she'd written this song. It was the day she'd met Sky Tate and Bridge Carson, two members of C-squad at the time. Syd instantly felt a connection between her and Bridge, and noticed that there was something mysterious and almost sexy about Sky. The three of them had played a game of lightball that very afternoon, which ended in them going outside for fresh air. They joked around with each other until it began to rain. Bridge and Syd made a run for the buildings, while Sky just stood there. Syd had gone back to him. He told her that he liked the rain. It made him feel as if everything were perfect with the world. Syd had later found out that Sky's mother loved the rain, and she had been killed in a tragic accident, during a horrific rainstorm that wiped out the highway she'd been driving on. Sky had confided in Sydney that when it rained, he felt close to her. Syd opened her eyes and breathed in before singing again.

"It was late in September  
and I'd seen you before  
you were always the cold one  
But I was never that sure  
you were all by yourself  
staring up at a dark grey sky  
I was changed..."

Syd smiled slightly, thinking of Sky before launching back into the chorus.

"In places no one would find  
all your feeling so deep inside  
it was then that I realized  
that forever was in your eyes  
the moment I saw you cry."

Syd could feel those same tears pricking her eyes again as she launched into the heartfelt bridge.

"I wanted to hold you  
I wanted to make it go away  
I wanted to know you  
I wanted to make your everything... all right."

Her voice quieted down as she finished the bridge and began a new verse.

"I'll always remember  
it was late afternoon  
in places no one will find."

Smiling she took a deep breath.

"In places no one would find  
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)  
(forever was in your eyes)  
It was there that I realized  
that forever was in your eyes  
the moment I saw you cry."

A tiny tear slipped down Syd's cheek facing away from her manager and mixer as she began to close the song.

"Baby Cry  
the moment that I saw you cry  
Oh no no  
I think I saw you cry  
the moment I saw you cry.."

Sydney's voice began to face out on the track.

"I wanted to know you  
I wanted to know you

I wanted to know you..."

After the song was over, she pulled off the headphones and let them rest against on her shoulders before bending down and getting her bottle of water that was resting on the floor as she discretely wiped away the traces of her tears. She stood up straight and took a swig of water. Syd could remember back when she made her first album, how hearing the backing vocals in her ears startled her, but now, while she was recording her sophomore album, it was expected and she had just continued on singing, unfazed by the voices in her ears. She couldn't help smiling a bit at how grown up she felt—being accustomed to how it was to record an album at just the age of 19. She looked towards the window of the sound booth and saw Stacey and Josh both smiling. Stacey came over and opened the door, walking over to the blonde.

"Syd, sweetheart, that was amazing. Hands down, best song you've done so far." She complimented. Syd's cheeks wore a soft crimson hue from her manager's praise and she smiled.

"Thanks, Stace."

"Well, we've got about two more songs to do, think you can handle it?" Stacey asked, although she knew the singer/former beauty queen/former Olympian/current SPD ranger could. Syd gave the older woman a bright smile.

"Sure." She said. Stacey gave the girl a warm smile before exiting the booth so that they could continue.

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Bridge Carson, Elizabeth "Z" Delgado, Schyler "Sky" Tate and Jack Landers all sat in the rec room at the SPD base, fully enjoying the current downtime their latest triumph over Grumm's forces had given them. Bridge and Z were sitting across from each other playing a game of chess, Sky was sitting off by himself reading and Jack was sitting not to far from the blue ranger, reading a comic book. Bridge and Z both sat hunched over the chess board, contemplating their own moves and anticipating their opponents move.

"Now remember," Z said. "No cheating by trying to read my mind." Bridge looked at her.

"I thought you didn't believe I couldn't read minds." Bridge said. Z gave him her trademark smirk.

"First of all, Sky's the one who said he didn't believe it." At the mention of his name, Sky briefly looked up, after realizing Z wasn't addressing him, he just returned to his book. "So, I just thought I'd remind you that if you try to cheat, you'll be in due for some severe bodily harm." She concluded with mock sweetness.

"Noted." Bridge said, giving the girl in yellow a mock salute. The door to the rec room swished open reviling a tired, and disheveled Syd. Her civilian clothes were slightly damp, as was her hair. She was dragging her black sweater and purse beside her and she tossed them onto the floor before flopping down on the couch next to Jack. She grabbed a pillow and tucked it behind her head before leaning back and sighing. Her teammates looked at her.

"How'd it go?" Bridge questioned. Syd sighed.

"Long... very very long." She replied sleepily. Jack looked at her.

"Did you get everything finished?" He asked. She nodded. "Yeah, we managed to finish recording all 16 songs, and we picked my first single." She responded, rubbing her eyes. Z looked at the pink ranger.

"What song?" Syd looked at her best friend.

"It's a ballad, called Cry." She finished. The group nodded. Bridge sneakily moved one of his chess piece on the board.

"Checkmate Z." He commented, grinning. Z frowned and kicked him under the table. Bridge just laughed it off. Z quirked an eyebrow at the boy in green before turning to give her full attention to the pink ranger, or so it seemed. Before Bridge knew what hit him, two of Z's duplications tackled him.

"Ah!" He exclaimed. Jack, Sky and Syd all looked over to see Bridge being pinned to the floor with the two Zs attacking his sides with their fingers. "Stop!" He laughed, damning the fact that Z knew how ticklish he was.

"So, anyway, are you going to make a video for it?" The actual Z asked Syd, ignoring Bridge. Syd blinked, drawing her attention away from the squirming green ranger.

"Oh, uh yeah, I think so." She said. "The label kind of took in consideration the fact that I've got other responsilities, so they revised my contract, not that I have idea what the revisions are."

"When will you know what's going to happen?" Jack asked. Syd sighed, rotating her shoulders tiredly.

"Not sure, in a couple of weeks maybe, once all the mixing and everything is done." She said. Jack put a hand on her shoulder, making her move forward. Syd didn't really pay much attention and just let herself be moved. Jack placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged her tired muscles gently. Syd sighed, grateful for her friend's actions. Sky watched Jack massaging Syd's shoulders and couldn't help as the same jealousy that came whenever he saw them together entered him. Z didn't seem to pay much attention to what Jack was doing and Bridge was too preoccupied to notice. Sky cast a glance and Z, figuring that Z, as Syd's roommate and best friend, knew of whatever was going on between Syd and Jack and therefore didn't bat an eyelash at Jack's massage.

"Z, come on! I give!" Bridge yelled. Z looked over at him.

"Do you promise never to cheat at chess again?" She asked.

"Not while playing with you." Bridge muttered as he fought to catch his breath, which resulted in the two Zs intensifying their torture on his sides. "Okay! Okay! I'll never cheat again!" He swore. The duplicates disappeared.

"Good." Z said, with a triumphant smile. Bridge tiredly sat up. Syd giggled at the state his hair and opened uniform jacket and green shirt were in. Bridge frowned and smooth down his hair before getting up and sitting back down at his seat. Syd sighed happily as Jack finished his massage. She yawned and looked at the clock. It was 8:30. Standing, she straightened her shirt and looked at the group.

"I'm exhausted. I'll see you guys later." She commented as she headed for the door. The doors swished open and Syd made a left and headed towards her bedroom.

"Hey, Syd." Came a voice. She stopped and looked around, not seeing anyone. "Up here." Came the voice. She looked up a bit and saw the white/blue ball of light.

"Oh hey-" She paused. "Uh……What exactly are we supposed to call you?" She asked. "Sam? Omega?" There was silence.

"Oh, sorry, forgot—no body, can't exactly shrug my shoulders, can I?" He joked. Syd laughed softly. "I guess whatever you guys want to call me is fine." He said. Syd covered her mouth as a yawn escaped.

"Oh, okay, well, I'm heading off to bed, see you tomorrow." She said.

"Night, Syd." He said as he floated away. Syd shook her head as she headed down the darkened corridor to her quaters. Poor Omega, stuck in light ball form. Feeling bad for the guy she waited as the doors opened into her room. She stepped in and walked over to her bed and grabbed her pink tank top and black sweat pants, one of her pink towels and her toothbrush and toothpaste. The door swished open and Syd walked out and back down the hall to the bathroom. She changed into her pajamas in the bathroom and walked over to the sink counter, placing her things on the counter she brushed her teeth and washed and after she rinsed, she gently scrubbed at her face. She shut off the water and blindly reached for her towel, but it wasn't where she had placed it. She opened one eye and saw the towel being held right in front of her. She took the towel and dried off her face. She looked up to see who had grabbed her towel and saw Z standing there, her arms crossed and her hip resting against the counter.

"So, 'Cry', huh?" Z asked. Z had seen her notebook full of song lyrics a while ago—a perk that came with being the pink ranger's ally in a group otherwise filled with testosterone. Syd sighed. Z and Jack where the only ones who knew about Syd's feelings for Sky—Jack finding out because he was like a brother to Z and the girl acidently let it slip out while having a conversation with the red ranger. Although, Syd recalled, she wasn't that upset about Jack knowing seeing as ever since her birthday—which she now shared with him, she saw him as like a brother just like Z said. Syd sometimes felt a special thrill at knowing Jack and Z, since she figured Z was like a sister to Jack, it was only logical that the two girls would be like sisters. Syd had grown up as an only child, and having Jack and Z made her feel less lonely and made her feel like she had a family that didn't just consist of her overbearing and judgmental parents.

"Yes." Syd responded.

"Any chance this will lead to you actually coming clean to our stoic friend?" Z asked. Syd rolled her eyes and gathered her things as she walked past Syd towards their room. The doors swished open and Z followed Syd into the room. Syd placed her clothes in her pink canvas hamper and hung the towel on the back of a chair. She then placed her toothbrush and toothpaste on her desk before going over to her bed.

"Z, I'm really tired." She said. Z sighed at her friend's aversion to the topic and decided to not push it.

"Right, well, I'm going to go back to the rec room. I'll be quiet when I come back in here." She said.

"Thanks." Syd said. She pulled back the pink covers on her bed and crawled in, lying down. She cuddled Peanuts close to her and settled into bed. Z left the room, shutting the lights off on her way out. Z shook her head as she walked back down the hallway to the rec room. She had seen the way that Syd looked at Sky. And Z, and Jack for that matter could never understand what the pink princess saw in the brooding blue ranger. Sure, she thought that Sky was somewhat attractive when she had first joined the academy, but she found a certain green ranger more appealing. Sighing, she waited for the doors to the rec room to swish open before she walked though. Jack had discarded his comic book and was now playing a game of chess with Bridge, taking her spot. So Z went over to the couch and plopped down and looked at Sky, who was still wrapped up in his book.

"Whatcha reading?" She asked him. Without even batting an eyelash, Sky lifted the book up. "The Da Vinci Code?" Z questioned. Sky's eyes lifted up to meet hers.

"Yes... Is there a problem with that?" He asked, coolness creeping into his voice. Z shook her head.

"Just wondering what you were reading." She said. "Although, I would have figured you'd go for more contemporary literature instead of something from '04."

"Guess you figured wrong." Sky said as he returned to his reading. Z raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, then." She said softly. She got up and went over to the guys, watching them play, Bridge flinched as she sat next to him, expecting her to make a sneak attack to his side. Z laughed and playfully shoved his shoulder. Bridge laughed, slowly going into ease. Jack quirked an eyebrow at Z. Bridge was a good guy, but Jack, seeing Z as his little sister, he automatically had any male she gave attention to under intense scrutiny. Z caught Jack's look and gave him a look that screamed 'mind your own buissness'. Jack smirked and focused on the chess game.

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Dr. Kat Manx stood at her lab desk, going over some results layed out in front of her. She, Boom and Cruger had been going over these stats, and running tests since the arrival of Omega Ranger. They were trying to get him to change into human form, and all their attempts so far, had flunked. Sighing she punched a few different combinations into the computer as the bouncy ball of light floated into the room. Kat hit enter and waited. After a few seconds nothing happened, and the half human half feline frowned. Nothing was working.

"I take it that it's not going well." The ball of light mused. Kat looked up.

"That'd be putting it mildly... No combination works properly." She grumbled as she printed off another set of numbers.

"Well, you guys don't need to go to all the trouble. You should be focusing more on defeating Grumm. I mean, it's not like I can't take coporal form at all—I can morph." He said. "Besides, with my younger self wandering around, maybe it's not the best idea to have me in human form—I don't exactly want to freak myself out, if you know what I mean."

"You have a point." Kat said. "But, it doesn't hurt to at least try to return you to your human form. I'm sure your getting tired of being a little bouncing ball of light, aren't you?" She asked.

"I do miss the advantages of having a body." He admitted, thinking back to his interaction with Syd before about only being able to express himself with words.

"All right then. And as far as Sam….er…..you……whatever…..is concerned, we'll think of something if we have to explain anything to him……or …..you……Well, you understand what I mean."

"Yeah." He said.

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Syd rolled over in her bed and slowly opened her eyes. She took a glance at the clock. 9:30am. Groaning at the fact that she was awake at 9:30am on a saturday, she burried her face back into her pillow. She had just nicely fallen back to sleep when the phone started ringing. Muttering under her breath she picked up the cordless machine and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked sleepily. There was a cheery voice that greeted her.

"Morning Sydney! It's Stacey, and we need to talk." She told the singer. Syd groaned as Stacey explained things about her video shoot. "...so basically you need to pick someone to be the love interest in your video." Stacey finished. Syd groaned.

"Can't you get some actor or something?" Sydney asked.

"We thought of that, but since we're on a bit of a time limit, we figured it'd be easier to have you just ask someone you know instead of us trying to find someone." Stacey explained.

"All right." Sydney said. She yawned. "Can I go back to sleep now?" She asked.

"Oh, sure, give me a call later today and we'll talk about scheduling." Stacey said.

"Uh huh, bye." She said. She shut off the phone and let it drop to the floor. The loud sound rousing Syd's roommate. Z sat up in bed, startled by the sound of the phone hitting the floor.

"Huh…..wha…" She said sleepily. Syd looked at her.

"Sorry, dropped the phone, go back to bed."


	2. Grow Up

Title: It Isn't Easy

Disclaimer: We own nothing….Except for Dorianna, and a few lil folks here and there. The song "Cry" is owned by Mandy Moore and all her posse. The rangers and all that belong to Disney.

Note from Becky: Hey, to the person who reviewed saying the ages of the rangers were revealed, saw em, showed them to teal, and we both agreed we like the ages we came up with better, lol.

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Morganna walked into her quarters on the ship, incredibly unhappy. Ever since Grumm had turned her back into her adult self, she had been trying to find ways to get him to turn her into a child again, but it seemed like it was hopeless. She had almost come close to achieving her goal—Grumm telling her that if she defeated the rangers, he'd return her to her child state, but of course, those rangers just had to find a way to beat Shorty and Devastation, resulting in the world being out of Grumm's rule for yet another day. She leaned against the wall and frowned.

"Now, now, Morganna, you shouldn't frown like that." An accented voice filled the air. Morganna stood up straight, startled. She looked over to her chair/bed that was suspended in the air. From the angle it was at, she hadn't noticed anything strange about it at first glance, but now, she could see a figure drapped on the comfortable furniture, their shadow being cast on the wall. "You might get premature wrinkles." The voice continued.

"Who's there?" Morganna asked. The person laughed and slowly turned. Morganna's frown/pout quickly turned into a face of anger and hatred. "You." She said lowly. "What are you doing here?" She asked. The person laughed and casually hopped off of the bed.

"A little birdie told me that you were living as a child—your dreams of eternal youth achieved—I just had to see it for myself." The person frowned a bit. "Too bad they were wrong." Morganna remained silent, not about to give her intruder the satisfaction of knowing the truth—that she had been living as a child, but it was stripped away from her. The person looked at the bed and picked up one of the toys on it. Morganna saw that it was Cindy Sunshine-her favorite doll. The person scoffed, looking at the object.

"How hideous." They said. Morganna shot over to the intruder and snatched the doll from their hands.

"Don't touch my things." She snarled. She quickly examined the doll, making sure her dress wasn't ruffled, or she was in any other way damaged. She sighed, relieved and smoothed her hand over the dolls head, holding it close. She then placed it back on the bed.

"'Don't touch my things'." The intruder mocked. "God, didn't you ever get a new line?" Morganna turned, her eyes ablaze.

"Well, I would've, if it hadn't been for the fact that _someone_ was always messing with my things." Morganna said. "You always wrinkled up my dresses, broke my things, broke the heads off my_ dollies!" _

"Oh will you get off that!"

"I will not. You always ruined my things, but no, mummy and daddy always said 'oh, Morganna, isn't she so cute, she wants to play with you'." Morganna made a gagging sound as she remembered. The girl in the room rolled her eyes, sweeping her long raven colored hair off her shoulder.

"Whatever." She said. She plastered on a fake smile. "Goodness, I've been here for nearly ten minutes, and my dear _older_ sister hasn't given me a hug? I do feel unloved." She said. Morganna flinched at the word "older", but then again, the other girl knew that word would get under Morganna's skin, which was why she chose to use it. Morganna glared at the girl and swung her hand, slapping the girl with the back of her hand hard, making her stumble back a bit. The girl chuckled a little, lightly touching her lip with her finger tips to see if there was any blood like the most times she and Morganna came to blows, but saw nothing. "Ah, violence, **now** it feels like old times." She said. She smirked as she launched herself on the tip of her tones on one foot, while sweeping her other leg high, catching Morganna in the face and making her stumble backwards, falling against her dresser. Morganna gave out a feral cry as she shoved off the dresser and tackled the girl to the ground. Her fingers latched onto the girl's hair and she tugged mercilessly. The girl screamed and kicked her legs up, knocking Morganna forward and making her fall on the floor on her back. Morganna got up just as the other girl was scrambling to her feet. Morganna went to go for another attack before the girl ducked and went to the bed, snatching up Cindy Sunshine.

"Take another step, and I'll rip her head off." The girl snarled. Morganna quickly stopped. The girl gripped the head of the doll, threateningly.

"Put it down." Morganna commanded. The other girl tightened her hold on the head, making Morganna focus her attention on that hand. The girl laughed.

"Fetch, doggie." She said, throwing the doll across the room. Morganna shrieked as she dove to catch the doll. She fell on her side just as she reached the object and rolled onto her back from the momentum. She panted, clutching the doll to her chest as if it were a child. She looked up to see that her sister was gone. Her eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"Dorianna." She said lowly. "The next time I see you, you're the one who's going to get their head ripped off." She swore to the empty room.

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Syd stood in the girls' bathroom finishing her hairstyle for the day. After the phone call from Stacey, both girls had fallen back to sleep for a few hours before waking again. Syd had already showered and was changed. She was wearing a pink mini skirt and a sleeveless black top. She pulled the straightener down the last piece of hair and unplugged it. She wrapped the cord around the handle and exited the bathroom. She walked back down the hallway to the room and the door swished open. Standing in her room, were Z and Bridge, idly chatting. Syd raised an eyebrow at the two before putting her things on her dresser and grabbing her purse. Smiling at the couple she exited. Syd walked down the hallway past the rec room and towards the vehicle holding bay. She grabbed the keys to the jeep and wandered over to it. She opened the door and climbed in. Before Syd had a chance to start the car, the passenger seat had become occupied. Syd looked to her right and came face to face with Jack.

"Hey Jack." She smiled as she turned the engine over. Jack smiled back.

"Where are you going?" He asked. Syd shifted gears and pulled the jeep out of the parking spot.

"I need to go to the studio." She replied.

"Ah. Well, I guess I'll come along, don't have anything else to do." He said, although now that the jeep was in motion, it wasn't like he could say otherwise. Syd laughed and continued driving. As they drove, Jack seemed a little uneasy. Syd picked up on it.

"Something wrong?" She asked. Jack looked at his friend.

"No, not really." He said. Syd gave him a look that said 'spill it.' Jack sighed.

"Have you noticed something going on between Bridge and Z?" He asked. Syd bit back a chuckle. Z hadn't exactly told her "big brother" that she had a thing for Bridge, even though to the pink ranger, it was pretty obvious on the very first day the two of them joined the academy. After Z had settled into the room with Syd and the girls got past the desire to despise one another, Syd had asked her about it.

_**Syd sat on her bed, watching the yellow ranger organize her side of the room. **_

"_**So, you like Bridge." Syd stated. Z stopped in the middle of folding a yellow shirt, almost frozen in place. She looked over at her roommate, putting on a careless smile.**_

"_**Uh sure, I mean, he's all right—So's Sky, Doggie, Kat, Bo-" Z said. Syd shook her head, sending her blonde curls swishing around her head.**_

"**_No, no, you like Bridge." Syd giggled. Z nervously went back to folding her shirt._**

"_**I have no idea what you're talking about."**_

After the two girls got closer, Z did finally admit that she liked the dark haired boy in green, but made Syd swear not to tell anyone, especially Jack. At first, Syd didn't understand that part, she even wondered if maybe Jack had a thing for Z which was why Z didn't want him to know, but she soon saw that the red and yellow rangers were like family, with Jack sometimes treating Z like his little sister, much to Z's annoyance.

"Uh…….What makes you ask that?" Syd asked.

"Well, I've kind of been noticing them hanging out a lot—and, I don't know about Bridge, but it seemed to me like Z's doing some flirting." Jack replied. Syd shrugged.

"Well, they could be hanging out a lot for the same reason the rest of us hang out…We're friends. Plus, Z's a girl, girls do tend to flirt without meaning to." Syd said, even she kind of cringed inwardly at the boldface lie. Z was not like other girls. Jack looked at her.

"Right…Z, flirting unconsciously. No offense, Syd, but that's bullsh-"

"Jack!" Syd admonished. Jack sighed and slumped back in his seat.

"So……..Z likes Bridge." Jack said. He sighed.

"What would be so bad about that?….If it were true, mind you." Syd said, sticking to her lie.

"Well, I mean, Bridge is a nice guy…I guess if Z was going to like a guy I'm glad it's him and not some creep, but…" Jack trailed off. Syd couldn't help giggle a bit at that. She knew that because Z basically grew up on the streets with Jack, she wasn't really able to make other friends, let alone meet boys and have crushes. In one of their late night talks, Syd remembered Z had actually shamefully admitted that she had never even kissed a boy. Syd understood Jack's uneasiness as being the fact that he had never had to deal with his "little sister" and boys.

"Jack, Bridge _is _a nice guy. I mean, if they do get together, he would so treat her with total respect." She said, not admitting that he was right, and plus, Bridge being his ambiguous self, Syd wasn't sure how he felt about the yellow ranger. She had her suspicious, mainly from how Bridge stared at Z when Cruger first brought her out to them during training and how he seemed to be near Z the majority of the time, but even in all the years that Syd had known the guy, he was still pretty hard to read at times. Which was kind of ironic, seeing as he could read anyone like an open book with just a wave of his ungloved hand. They pulled up to the studio and Syd parked the jeep. The two of them walked in and Jack followed Syd to where she was meeting with Stacey. They walked into a room and saw Stacey in the middle of a conversation with a tall thin man with dark hair and black rimmed glasses. Stacey looked up to Syd as the two entered.

"Sydney, hi." She smiled brightly to her client.

"Hi, Stacey. Oh, this is my friend Jack, is it all right if he's here?" Syd asked.

"Sure." Stacey said. She stood up and shook Jack's hand.

"He's perfect!" The other man said, causing Syd and Jack to stare at him like he was crazy. The man walked over to Jack and examined him, holding up his hands like the hole in a camera and looking through it. Syd looked at Stacey.

"Oh, I'm sorry, this is Ivan Travers, he's going to be directing your video." Stacey explained.

"Mind explaining why he's fascinated by me?" Jack asked as Ivan slowly walked around him. Ivan looked at Stacey.

"He would be perfect in her video." He said. Jack scrunched his eyebrows, still in the dark about what was going on, but Syd understood.

"What?" She asked. Stacey seemed to consider what Ivan said.

"Hmm, Syd, he is right. He would be good to play your love interest." She commented. Jack's eyebrows went up. Syd looked at her manager.

"Stacey, Jack and I are just friends, seriously." Syd said.

"He is perfect." Ivan stated. Jack looked at him.

"Will you **please** stop saying that? You're freaking me out." Jack said, stepping away from the man. Ivan ignored Jack and turned to the two females.

"It could work. The whole contrast thing will really catch people's eyes." He walked over to Syd. "You-the small curly blonde haired girl, him-the big, dark, handsome man of your dreams. I can just see it being number one on TRL already." Syd and Jack looked at each other. About an hour later, Syd and Jack left the building and made their way back to the jeep.

"Jack, I'm really sorry Ivan and Stacey were like that." She said, climbing in the drivers side, Jack got in as well.

"I'll admit, it was overwhelming." He said.

"If you don't want to do it, I'll totally understand." Syd said. Jack sighed as Syd pulled out and began driving back to the SPD base.

"I'll do it." He said after a while. Syd looked at him.

"Really? I mean, I don't want you to feel like you're forced-"

"I'll do it." He repeated. "Look, you need someone for your video, the director seems to have some obsession with me, so, I'll do it."

"Are you sure? I don't want to push you into it. I mean, yeah, I do need someone, but-"

"If not me, then who? I mean, if you asked Sky, wouldn't it be a little weird for you…him playing your love interest."

"Yeah, but I could ask Bridge……..Or maybe one of the guys in C-Squad….." Syd offered, telling him he didn't have to do it if he didn't want to.

"Syd, I'll do it. It's not a big deal." Jack said. Syd smiled.

"Thanks." They soon arrived back at Delta base and Syd parked the car. They climbed out and made their way onto the main floor of the base via the escalator. Syd looked at Jack and grinned.

"Ya know, I think Ivan's got a little crush on you." She teased. Jack gave her a glare.

"Syd." He warned.

"What? I think you two would make a lovely couple." Syd giggled.

"Knock it off." Jack said. Syd gave one last giggle before sobering.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry." She said. They stepped off the escalator and then made their way towards the rec room. "So, would you be Jack Landers-Travers, Jack Travers-Landers, Jack Travers or will you be modern and keep your last name?" She said.

"You're so dead!" Jack bellowed. Syd laughed as she ran with Jack chasing after her. She turned her head back to see him gaining on her and she picked up her speed. Unfortunately, she wasn't watching where she was going, but Jack was. "Syd, look out!" He said, but it was too late. Just as Syd turned her head forward to see what was wrong, she plowed into someone.

"AHH!" She heard the person cry out in surprise as the force of impact caused him to lose his balance. Reflexively the guy grabbed Syd around the waist as they fell, Syd falling on top of him.

"Syd, you okay?" Jack asked as he caught up to Syd. Jack took her arm and gently helped her up. Syd looked down and saw that it had been Sky who she collided with.

"Sky, I'm so sorr-" Syd began, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. Sky got up.

"What the heck are you two doing?" He chastised, his voice firm and hard as if he were speaking to children. Syd looked down. Jack looked at him.

"Chill out, man. It was an accident." He said.

"Whatever. This isn't a playground." Sky said. He cast a look at Syd. "So why don't you both just grow up." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away. Jack looked at Syd.

"God, he's such a-" Syd cut him off by pulling her arm out of his grasp. "Syd?" He asked.

"I've got to……..go." She said, her voice wavering.

"Syd, don't.." Jack began.

"I'll see you." Syd said as she quickly turned around and ran in the direction of the room she shared with Z, ducking her head so as no one would see the tears cascading down her cheeks. Jack sighed as he watched her leave. Syd burst into her room as the doors slid open and found Bridge and Z sitting on Z's bed facing each other and laughing about something. As soon as they heard her come in, they turned to her. Syd sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Syd, you okay?" Bridge asked. He went over to her.

"I'm fine, Bridge." She said. Bridge put a hand on her shoulder. "I said I'm fine!" She yelled. Bridge stepped back. He didn't need his powers to tell she was severely upset about something. Z went over and put her hands on Bridge's shoulders, ushering him to the door. She gently pushed him out the door.

"I'll talk to you later." She said, basically telling him she was planning on tending to her roommate. Bridge nodded and left as the doors slid shut behind him. Z sighed and turned back to her friend who had now slid to the floor in a sitting position with her knees up against her chest. Z went over and sat next to her. She remained silent and just let Syd calm down. Syd wiped at her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at him." Syd said softly. "I didn't know you two were in here-"

"Don't worry about it." Z said. She put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Do you want me to go and get Peanut?" She asked, which made Syd give a bit of a chuckle through her tears. Z smiled to herself, proud that she was able to get a smile out of Syd. Syd looked up as she swiped her fingertips across her bottom eyelid, wiping away some tears. "So, what happened?" Z asked. Syd sighed and slumped back, her head falling against Z's shoulder.

"Sky yelled at me. I don't know………It just made me feel……..Stupid and like I was a little kid." Syd said. Z looked at the girl next to her.

"What did he say?" She asked. Syd sighed.

"I was teasing Jack and then I was running and he was chasing me. I wasn't looking where I was going and I sort of knocked Sky down." Syd said. She looked down. "He told us that the academy wasn't a playground, and to grow up." She murmured. Z frowned.

"I'm seriously getting the urge to pull that stick out of his ass and beat him over the head with it." Z said. Syd smiled at her attempt to make her feel better. "Seriously, I mean, it's just harmless fun, what's up with him?"

"I don't know." Syd said. She looked down. "Do you think I'm immature?" Syd asked.

"What?" Z asked, shocked.

"I mean…….I'm 19, I still sleep with a stuffed animal…….I'm self centered, vapid……Maybe Sky's right, I do need to grow up." Syd said softly. That was it for Z, she jumped up to her feet.

"That's it; Sky's going to become the **black and blue** ranger when I get my hands on him." Z said. She was mad that Sky had upset Syd, and when she was upset, well, that was when her street survival, don't want to meet her in a dark alley side popped up. Syd got up to her feet.

"No, Z, don't." Syd pleaded. Z ignored her and stalked out of the room. Syd sighed and followed. Z went into the rec room where she saw Jack, Bridge and some other cadets. Jack and Bridge both looked up as she walked in.

"Uh oh." Jack said, recognizing the fire in Z's eyes. Bridge was about to ask what was wrong when Z spoke.

"Where's Sky?" She asked.

"No clue." Jack said. Without another word, Z turned and left the room. Syd sighed and followed.

"We should probably go after them." Jack suggested.

"Why? What's wrong?" Bridge asked.

"Well, the last time Z had that angry look in her eyes—she nearly broke some guy's arm because he was trying to rob an old lady that we knew….She's looking for Sky, you do the math." Jack said.

"Uh oh." Bridge said as he and Jack quickly got up and went to look for Syd and Z. They were just out of the rec room when they heard a grunt.

"Z!" Came Syd's startled cry.

"Training room." Both Bridge and Jack said as they took off in the direction of the room. They found Syd standing there and Sky lying on the blue mat covered floor on his stomach with Z sitting on him, her knee firmly planted in the small of his back to keep him from moving. She also had one of his arms twisted behind his back. Sky was straining to get her off of him but to no avail.

"Will someone get this lunatic off me?" Sky asked.

"I'm not budging until you apologize." Z said.

"For what!" Sky asked. Z, angered that he had no idea what he had done, dug her knee into his back a bit more. Sky let out a pained groan.

"Z, knock it off." Syd requested. Jack sighed and purposefully walked over to Z and Sky. He bent down and grabbed Z under her arms. In one swift motion, he picked her up off of Sky. The moment the weight of the girl was off of him, Sky quickly scrambled to his feet.

"What's going on here?" Bellowed a voice. They all turned to see Cruger standing in the doorway. He had heard the commotion and didn't look at all pleased. He scanned the room and saw Syd standing off to the side with Bridge, Jack holding an enraged Z around the waist and Sky standing a foot away from them, panting. Sky looked at their commander.

"Nothing sir, just doing some training." He said. Cruger narrowed his eyes, not believing the blue ranger, but figuring that was all the response he was going to get.

"Very well, keep it down." He said as he walked off. Sky looked at Z as she shook out of Jack's hold. She walked towards the door, slamming her shoulder against Sky's as she passed him and left the room. Bridge followed the yellow ranger. Syd looked at Sky and he looked back at her. Syd bit her lip before quickly leaving. Sky sighed and turned to Jack.

"Care to tell me why I now have an imprint of Z's knee on my back?" Sky said. Jack looked at the blue ranger. He shrugged.

"Must've been something you did…….or **said**." Jack hinted. He then left the room. Sky watched the red ranger leave, at a total lost what that meant. Syd slowly dragged her feet down the hallway, watching Z storm towards the rec room. Syd stopped at the doorway just as Z angrily flung herself down onto one of the couches.

"You didn't have to be so mea-."

"Mean? Jesus Sydney, I should have kicked his ass from here to Kyoto!" Z snapped. Syd sighed.

"Look, I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt me." She murmured. Z looked at the pink ranger.

"Look, none of this crazy you getting upset which makes me want to kill him would be weird if you just told Sky the truth. So tell Sky than-"

"Tell me what exactly?" The man in question asked as he entered the room. Sydney jumped, her cheeks blazing red.

"No-nothing!" Sydney stammered before quickly ducking out of the room. Sky looked over at Z.

"So mind telling me what that was about earlier?" Sky asked, his arms crossed. Z just looked at him.

"I'd tell you what, or pardon me, who it was for, but it wouldn't make a difference. You'd still be blind." She snarled before grabbing her headphones and jamming them on her ears. Sky just rolled his eyes and left the room. He walked down the corridor and saw Syd walking ahead of him. He jogged up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, making her stop and face him.

"Okay, seeing as Z isn't going to tell me why she nearly put her knee though my spine, mind telling me what's going on?"

"What makes me think I have any idea?" Syd asked softly.

"Well, she's your best friend." Sky reasoned. Syd shrugged.

"I don't know." She said. She bit her lip. Sky peered at her.

"Are you okay?" Sky asked. Syd nodded silently. "Are you sure? You seem upset." Syd stared at him, a little surprised he was talking to her as if nothing happened earlier. Syd shook her head.

"I'm fine." She said. "I'll see you around." She said, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. She turned and walked away. Sky watched her leave. Later that night, Syd was lying awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She looked over across the room and saw Z sleeping soundly. Syd carefully pulled the covers off of her and climbed out of bed. She went to the closet and pulled out a box filled with some things---After she had left Sky she had gone to her room and put some things—more specifically some trinkets that didn't totally reflect her age—into a box. She carefully went to her bed and grabbed Peanuts and put it in the box as well. She then lifted the box and left the room. Syd blew a stray hair out of her face as she patted down the darkened corridors to the main lobby of the floor before climbing on the escalator and waiting as it descended. Syd wiggled her toes, a little surprised at how the cold steel of the escalator step felt on her bare feet. As soon as the escalator made it to the bottom, Syd stepped off. She was now where the jeeps and cars were parked, which was also where the dumpsters were. She hoisted the box up a bit in her arms as she walked to the dumpster. She set the box down and opened the lid of the dumpster. She stepped back and took a deep breath. She bent down and picked up the box again. She lifted the box up and threw it in. She looked in, seeing the box of her things just sitting on top of garbage bags in the dumpster and for a moment, almost reached in to get it out.

"Syd?" Came a voice. Sydney jumped and turned around to see Sky standing there in a blue sleeveless shirt and a pair of gray gym shorts. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Sky, hey….I was just throwing some things out." She said, tucking some blonde hair behind her ear. Sky quirked an eyebrow.

"At two in the morning?" Sydney shrugged.

"Well, what are you doing up so late?" She countered.

"Couldn't sleep, thought I'd jog for a little bit." Sky replied. Syd nodded. Sky looked over her shoulder and saw the box in the dumpster. His eyebrows went up and he walked over reaching in. He pulled out Peanuts. "Syd, you do realize you're throwing out your favorite stuffed animal, right?" He asked, figuring it ended up in the box by accident. Syd reached over and took the toy and tossed it back in the box.

"Yeah." She said. Sky looked at her. Syd shrugged. "I just realized I'm too old for that stuff." She said. Sky blinked.

"Oh.." He said. Syd nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't need it anymore. I'm not a six year old little girl anymore." She said, almost trying to convince herself. Sky nodded.

"Right." He said.

"Well, I guess I should go to bed. Good night." Syd said. She walked over to the escalators and rode back up to the main floor. Sky watched her leave, transfixed by the way her pink cotton cami left the small of her back exposed and the way her white and pink pinstripe cotton pajama pants flowed against her legs. Sky sighed and turned back to the dumpster, seeing all the things Syd threw out. Sky pulled himself up to the top of the dumpster and grabbed the box and hauled it out. Inside were things that he'd seen in Sydney's room before. A small stuffed moose that Syd had gotten while on vacation in Canada, picture frames, books, bracelets, even adorable little earrings that Sky knew she loved to wear. Sky set the box down and removed the items and slowed as he reached the bottom. There, starring him in the face was a small panda bear that Bridge and Sky had given the pink ranger for her 17th birthday. Sky remembered how Syd's face had lit up with excitement and how she had thanked them immensely. It was then that Sky knew he was falling for the vision in pink. He had had a crush on her since they met all those years before, but always figured it was because at the time it was just him, Syd and Bridge in their squad so he just was attracted to the only girl he knew, but at the moment her eyes lit up for the bear, he realized even if there had been a thousand girls in their squad, Syd would've been the only one in the world in his eyes. Sighing, the blue ranger quickly gathered the items and placed them back in the box. He picked the box up.

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The next morning, the five rangers all stood outside for training. They all stood in a line and Cruger stood before them.

"All right, cadets. Well, today we're going to focus more on battle training. So, I want you to break off into sets of two and spar." He said. He paused, remembering that Omega wasn't in corporal form and he himself was going back to the lab to help Kat, Boom and Omega in their search to return Omega to his human form. "One set of three and one set of two." He amended. The rangers saluted their commander and watched as he left. The five of them got out of the line and got ready to pick their partner or partners. Z gave an evil smirk to Sky and went to go over to him. Jack, seeing this would be a repeat of yesterday, quickly got in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Z, how about you and me spar?" He asked as he pushed her off to the side. Z looked at Jack then back at Sky. Suddenly someone smacked the back of Sky's head.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, startled, he turned around to see one of Z's duplicates standing there before it disappeared. Sky turned around and glared at Z who simply smirked as she and Jack began to spar. Bridge, Syd and Sky became the group of three. The group of three looked at each other before each getting into a fighting stance. Bridge and Syd looked at each other before launching themselves at Sky. Sky stepped into a defensive stance and blocked Bridge's attack, pushing him off. He then waved his hand making a force field which stopped Syd in her tracks. With Syd held back, Sky turned his full attention to sparring with Bridge. Syd stumbled back and dodged around the fading force field. As Sky knocked Bridge down Syd jumped onto Sky's back and put her hands over his eyes and clung to him for dear life. Bridge chuckled as Sky stumbled around, trying to get the pink ranger off his back. Bridge took this opportunity to jump up and punched Sky. Sky stumbled backwards, causing Syd's hands to falter from his eyes and land around his neck. Now being able to see Sky lunged forward at Bridge. Bridge grabbed Sky's arm and spun him around. The green ranger got the upper hand and kicked Sky in the stomach. Stumbling backwards again, Sky couldn't regain his balance with Syd on his back and the two went crashing to the ground. Syd's head smacked off the mats and when Sky's body landed on hers, he knocked the wind out of her body. Her eyes closed from the pain and inability to breath. She felt Sky's weight quickly leave her.

"Syd!" She heard someone yell. Her head was spinning as she tried to sit up. She felt hands on her shoulders, holding her down. "Don't move." Said a voice, which, as her head began to clear she recognized it as Sky. "Just lay still." Syd heard footsteps rushing towards them.

"What happened!" Syd heard Z exclaim. She heard some shifting and moving and voices around her before she felt a hand under her hair, lifting her head up gently.

"All right, well she's not bleeding, thankfully." She heard Jack say. "Syd, can you get up?" Jack asked. Syd slowly opened her eyes.

"I…….I don't know." She said softly. Jack sighed and got up, crouching on the balls of his feet.

"I'm taking you to the infirmary." He said. He put his other hand under her legs and scooped her up in his arms. Syd held onto his shoulders as he walked off. Sky frowned and walked off in the opposite direction. Bridge and Z just looked at each other.

"Guess training's cut short today." Bridge said. "Wanna grab a snack?" He asked. Z nodded and the two walked off. Sky walked to the edge of the academy and sighed, leaning against a tree. He looked down, kicking the dirt of the ground with the toe of his shoe. He didn't want to hurt Syd……….Which was the whole reason why he held her back with his force field and attacked Bridge. But Syd, not one to be left out of the fun, just had to jump on him and he just had to fall on her. Sky sighed and sat on the ground.

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The doors swished open and Jack, carrying Syd walked into the infirmary. Kat and Boom watched as he placed the pink ranger on one of the small beds that was set up. Jack turned to one of the cadets who ran the infirmary and told him what happened before his eyes went to Kat and Boom. He walked over. Kat inwardly cringed. She and Boom were there getting some supplies to work with Omega. They hadn't told the other rangers about their work just because none of them were sure if it would work or not and they didn't want to get the rangers' hopes up.

"Hey." Jack said to Kat and Boom.

"Hey, what happened to Syd?" Boom asked.

"She fell and hit her head during training." He looked at them both, not used to seeing them in the infirmary. "What are you guys doing here?" Kat looked at Boom. She quickly grabbed one of his hands behind her back and pricked it with her nail. Boom jumped and snatched his hand away. He saw a trickle of blood coming from his finger.

"Boom got a paper cut." Kat said. Jack furrowed his eyebrows.

"And he needed your assistance to get here?" Jack asked.

"Oh yeah, well, loss of blood makes me dizzy, I needed help." Boom offered. Jack gave them both a confused look.

"Riiiight." He said. He turned around and went over to Syd. Boom looked at Kat.

"That really hurt." He complained.

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A few hours later, Jack entered the rec room where he saw Bridge and Z playing a game of cards. They both looked up at him as he approached them.

"Hey, how's Syd doing?" Z asked as Jack sat down beside the two.

"She's going to have a bump on her head, but other then that, she's fine." Jack answered. "The med crew wanted her to rest for a while so she can get her bearings." The door swished opened as Sky entered the room. The three rangers looked up at him as he went to the far corner of the room and sat down.

"What's up with him?" Jack asked.

"He's probably feeling bad about what happened. I mean after you and Syd left, Sky just took off." Bridge replied.

"Oh." Jack said. He decided to just let the blue ranger alone and looked at his two friends. "Deal me in the next hand." He requested. Sitting on the other side of the room, Sky picked up a book and slowly flipped through it, not bothering to read the writing. His mind was too focused on Sydney. The blue ranger tried to focus on the words written on the page, but it was useless. He finally gave up and chucked the book aside and left the room. He slowly sauntered down the hallway towards his room and paused as the doors swooshed open into his room. He unzipped his SPD jacket and tossed it onto his chair and fell onto his bed and starred at the ceiling. The picture of him and Syd falling kept playing through his mind.


	3. Love Triangels, Love Squares,

Title: It Isn't Easy

Disclaimer: We own nothing….Except for Dorianna, and a few lil folks here and there. The song "Cry" is owned by Mandy Moore and all her posse. The rangers and all that belong to Disney.

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The following morning, after Syd's accident, the bubbly blond mulled around her room, grumbling slightly under her breath. She wandered over to her closet and started digging through her closet looking for something. Z was lying on her bed, headphones on watching her do this. Finally Syd threw her hands up in frustration and moved from the mess she'd created and back over to her bed. Z looked at her.

"Something the matter?" The dark haired female questioned. Syd nodded.

"Some of my stuff is gone." She whined.

"What? Your clothes?" Z asked. Syd shook her head. She sighed.

"I kind of……………..Threw some stuff out."

"Then why are you searching this place like a madwoman?" Z asked. Syd shrugged.

"Thought maybe I left some stuff in the closet." Syd said.

"What did you throw out?" Z asked. Syd looked at her bed. Z followed her gaze. Her eyes widened.

"You didn't….." Z said, trailing off. Syd looked down. "Peanuts?" Z asked. "Why?" Syd shrugged.

"I thought I was getting to old for all that stuff, so I threw it out." Syd said. She sighed. "Now I'm totally regretting it." Z sighed and got up from bed.

"Well, maybe the stuff is still in the dumpster." Z suggested. Syd eyes lit up.

"Oh my god, I didn't think of that!" Syd said. She ran out of the room. Z sighed and rolled her eyes, following her roommate. By the time Z got to the escalator to the lower level, Syd was already halfway down, rushing down the stairs. Z picked up her pace to catch up with her and once they were on the floor, Z jogged up to her friend so they reached the dumpster at the same time. Syd took a deep breath and lifted the lid of the dumpster with a relived smile on her face which faded as soon as she looked inside.

"What's wrong?" Z asked.

"It's empty." Z pouted. Syd let the lid fall back in place as she numbly walked away. Z looked at her.

"Are you sure? Maybe your stuff shifted." Z said. She opened the other side of the lid and saw that that to was empty. "The trash collectors must of come by already." Z said softly. She sighed and closed the dumpster. She turned to her friend who was standing to the side, looking down. Z went over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Syd shook her head and looked at her friend.

"They're gone Z... And I'm never going to see Peanut again." She whispered before slowly walking away. Z sighed and walked with her, wishing there was a way she could help.

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Sky sat by his bed on the floor with a box in front of him. In it were Syd's things that she had tried to throw out the other night. He deftly reached in and picked up one of the small stuffed animals from it. He remembered a while ago he had inquire about her collection of the small toys and she told them they were popular back in the late 20th century and were called Beanie Babies. She had gotten them from her grandmother. He ran his finger over the small toy when he heard the sounds of the door swishing open. Sky quickly dropped the toy in the box and shoved it under his bed before it could be seen. He looked over to see Bridge walk in. Bridge gave him a puzzled look.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He asked.

"Just got done doing some sit-ups." Sky replied.

"But you're not sweaty or anything." Bridge countered. Sky got up to his feet.

"What's with the 3rd degree?" Sky asked.

"What's with avoiding the question?" Bridge replied. Sky rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, man." Sky said. Sky stood and left the room that he shared with the green ranger and headed down to the rec room. He hoped that it would be empty so that he could get some quality reading time in. As he approached the room he noticed Syd and Z walking slowly down the hallway, Z's arm through around the shorter girls shoulders. Sky stopped and looked at them? "Syd? Z?" He questioned. The two girls looked up at him. Z's eyes darkened as the brooding blue ranger, where as Syd's were filled with hope.

"Sky!" The pink ranger cried. She ran over to him and stopped and looked at him. "Have you seen the box that I threw out last night?" She questioned. Sky nearly blanched.

"Uh, no, can't say that I have." He said. Sky wasn't sure what made him lie, it just came out. He scratched the back of his head. "Did you check the dumpster?" He asked.

"We just came from there." Z answered. Syd looked down and sighed.

"I guess it's in the trash yard now. Well, sorry for bothering you." She said softly. She walked past him and headed to her room. Z sighed and followed. Sky watched the blonde girl walk with her head down, looking utterly depressed.

"Syd, wait!" He called out. Syd and Z stopped and turned to him.

"Yes, Sky?" She asked. Sky stopped, unsure what to say. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, I took some trash out this morning before the garbage truck came by and I didn't see the box in there." He said. Both girls gave them puzzled looks. "Maybe someone took it out." He said. Syd's eyes lit up with hope.

"You think so?" She asked. "That's great, I-" Syd was cut off by her watch beeping. She looked at her watch. "Damn, I've got to go to the studio for some last minute touches on the album." Syd sighed.

"Hey, why don't you go ahead, and I'll ask around, see if anyone knows anything." Sky offered. Syd smiled.

"Thanks, Sky." She said. Sky smiled.

"Anytime Syd." He replied. Syd grinned and hurried past him and down towards the vehicle bay. Z looked at the blue ranger in front of her.

"Someone's doing something nice. I take it your trying to redeem yourself for the other night?" She questioned. Sky looked at her.

"Z, what's your problem?" He asked, his face scrunching up a little. Z crossed her arms.

"You really have no idea, do you?" She asked. Sky rolled his eyes.

"No, I don't!" He replied, exasperated. "I have no idea why you attacked me, I have no idea why for some reason I'm on your worst hated list. I mean, I thought we were all right…….Granted we're not bosom buddies, but I thought we were like at least on somewhat good terms." Sky sighed. Z looked at him. "We'd still be on good terms if you hadn't been such a jackass towards Syd!" Z snapped. Sky blinked and looked at her.

"That's what this is about? Because she ran into me, we fell and I caught her? What a stupid reason to be mad at me." He grumbled. Z looked at him.

"It's not WHAT happened, it's what you said to her!" She retorted. Sky gave her a dumbfounded look as he tried to recall what he had said. Z rolled her eyes. "Let's just say that I'm pretty sure that she threw out her things because of it." Z said. Sky looked at her. She turned to leave. Sky groaned and went over to her, he grabbed her arm and spun her around. Z snatched her arm away. On the other end of the corridor, Bridge was making his way to the rec room when he saw Sky grab Z's arm. He stopped. _Why are Sky and Z together……alone?_ He watched the two of them as they talked quietly. Sky was in between Bridge's line of vision to Z, so he couldn't see Z's angry expression, which led to him seeing things differently. _Are they………..together? Is that why Sky was so jumpy and secretive before? Is that why she attacked him the other night……did he piss her off? That's just great…….Sky, the tall good-looking guy gets the girl…….Great, just great. _Bridge sighed and turned around and left. While he had been watching, Sky and Z were talking quietly.

"Can you just tell me what I did wrong?" He asked sincerely. Z gave him a look that screamed 'eat shit and die'. "Please, Z." He begged.

"You made her feel like an immature little girl." Z said. "You yelled at her and told her to grow up." Z said. Sky's face fell.

"……….I didn't mean to hurt her."

"Yeah, well you did." Z retorted. "Are we done?" She asked. She didn't wait for him to respond before spinning on her heel and walking away. Sighing Sky turned on his heel and headed away from the hallway and back towards his room. Stopping a moment, he waited for the door to open before stepping into his room. He looked over at Bridge's bed and noticed that it was occupied by the green ranger hunched over slightly. Bridge's eyes slowly drifted upwards and narrowed at Sky.

"So when were you planning on telling me?" Bridge asked. Sky looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" He grumbled.

"You **_know_** what I'm talking about." Bridge said. Sky looked at his friend.

"No, I don't." Sky said. Bridge got up and walked up to him.

"Whatever, man." Bridge said, in a defeated tone. "You could've told me. I mean, if I knew you liked her, I wouldn't have even bothered. It's not like I would've had a chance." Bridge walked past Sky. "I'm going to stay in Jack's room for a while." He said. Sky looked at him. _Bridge likes Syd? Wait……How did he know I like her? _He wondered as the green ranger walked to the door. Sky went over to Bridge.

"Look, man, I didn't know you liked her too." Sky said. "But you don't have to worry about it. I mean, I'm pretty sure Jack's the one that's with her." Bridge turned and faced him.

"What?" He asked, not expecting that.

"You mean you don't see it? They're always together. It's obvious they're a couple. Did you see how he was with her at training yesterday?" Sky said. He was referring to Jack picking Syd up and taking her off to the infirmary, but to Bridge, he thought he was referring to Jack insisting Z spar with him. Bridge looked down.

"You're right." He said. He sighed. He walked back to his bed and sat down, looking down at his hands. Sky sighed and went over to his friend and sat beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure they're together?" Bridge asked. "I mean, I thought things were totally platonic between them, ya know?"

"So did I, at first." Sky sighed. "I wish it wasn't so, believe me."

"I just can't believe it." Bridge said. He got to his feet and paced angrily around the room. "I can't believe **_him!_** All this time, here I thought we were buds and he's been playing kissy face with her behind my……….behind **_our _**backs!" Sky just sat back and let him spew out his feelings. He knew that Bridge, with his abilities, needed to let these emotions out or else they'd build up inside him and cause some serious damage. He understood what Bridge was feeling because he felt it himself. Bridge sighed and slumped against the wall. "I kind of thought maybe she might like me……But, why would anyone like dorky me? I was stupid to ever think Z would want me." Sky nodded, feeling what he felt, then stopped.

"Wait, what?" He asked, confused. "You like **_Z_**?" Bridge looked at him.

"Yeah. And you do too………we've been talking about her for the past five minutes." Bridge said, not getting his incredulous look. Sky looked down for a second and then burst into a fit of chuckles. Bridge shot him a look. "What's so funny?" He asked. The chuckles evolved into full out laughter. Sky leaned forward and wiped at his eyes that were tearing up from laughing so hard. "We……..Just spent………….this whole conversation……talking about two different people." Sky said between laughs.

"What?" Bridge asked. Sky slowly let his laughter subside and took a few breaths to calm down.

"I wasn't talking about Z." Sky said. Bridge looked at him.

"I'm confused….I thought you liked Z."

"I thought you liked Syd." Sky replied. "You like Z?" Sky asked, a little surprised.

"You like Syd?" Bridge replied in the same tone. Bridge thought for a second, taking this all in. "Okay, so I like Z, and you like Syd………who is Jack playing kissy face with?" He asked.

"Syd." Sky said. Bridge let out a long sigh of relief. Sky gave him a look.

"Sorry." Bridge said. "So, no one likes Z, right?" Bridge asked, making sure there was no competition for his own sake. Sky gave him a mean look.

"Well, who knows, Boom or Omega might think she's a hottie." Sky said snidely.

"Seriously, man." Bridge pleaded.

"No. No one else is vying for your duplicating, violent psycho, at least not to my knowledge." Sky said. Bridge gave a relieved smile.

"Great." He went and sat on his bed next to Sky. The two were silent for a few minutes, taking everything in. "Just so you know, next time you call her a psycho, it'll be my knee imbedded in your spine." Bridge said. Sky chuckled.

"All right, sure thing Bridge." He said.

"Serious. I could take you." Bridge said.

"If you say so." Sky said.

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Syd tiredly walked back into the academy and slouched over the railing as she stood on the escalator going up to the main floor. She had been at the studio much longer than she had originally expected. Stacy wanted her to do a few extra things and it had completely wiped the young megastar. She slowly trudged through the empty academy hallways and down towards the guys quarters. She slowed as she came to Bridge and Sky's room and gently rapped her knuckles on the door. She waited a moment before the door swished open and Sky's tall frame towered over her.

"Syd, your back." He commented. She nodded tiredly.

"Yeah, what time is it?" She asked, stifling a yawn. Sky smiled as she rubbed her eyes.

"It's a little after 9." He commented. He waved her into his room and she plopped down on his bed.

"Where's Bridge?" She asked as she leaned back and closed her eyes.

"He's with Z." Sky replied. Syd nodded.

"Oh, did you have any luck finding my stuff?" She asked. Sky shook his head.

"No Syd, I didn't. I'm sorry." He replied sincerely. Syd's eyes opened and she looked at him, her eyes were watering slightly.

"I wish I wouldn't have thrown it out." She whispered as a fear tears slipped down her cheeks. Sky moved over to her and sat on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned into his chest, crying.

"I'm sorry Syd. I wish there was something I could do." He murmured. Syd shook her head.

"It's ok Sky, it's my fault." She replied. Sky took a deep breath.

"I bought you something." He told her. She looked up at him and wiped her eyes. "What'd you get me?" She asked, her eyes lighting up softly. He smiled.

"Close your eyes." He whispered as he moved from the bed and towards his closet. He opened it and reached in and grabbed Peanuts. Syd sat patiently on his bed, eyes closed.

"Alright, hold your hands out." He told her. She did so and he gently placed the stuffed elephant into them. "Open your eyes." He spoke gently. Her eyes slid open and stared at the old beaten up elephant in her hands. Syd inhaled sharply as she looked from Sky to her stuffed animal.

"Peanuts!" She cried hugging the animal. Sky smiled warmly at the way she looked. She looked like a mother who had just been reunited with her long lost child—grateful, happy. She was just shining. Syd tiredly looked at Sky. "Thank you, so much." She whispered as she wrapped her arms him and hugged him tightly. Sky smiled and wrapped his arms around the smaller girl. They stayed there for a moment before Sky went to pull away and noticed that Syd wasn't allowing him.

"Syd?" He asked gently. Syd shifted slightly in his arms and a small happy sigh escaped her lips. She'd fallen asleep. Smiling softly, Sky maneuvered himself off the bed and pulled back the covers of his bed with one hand and then gently placed the sleeping princess under the covers. Sky attempted to move away, but Syd's grip tightened around his neck. Sky undid his uniform jacket and slid it off before turning his lamp off and climbing into the bed with Syd. He laid on his back as Syd was curled up beside him, her head on his chest and her arms around his neck. Sky sighed as he ran his hand up and down her back and put his other hand under his head, resting on his arm. He couldn't help smile a bit at the feel of Syd's stuffed animal at his side as the item was squished between them. He raised his head and kissed her forehead gently, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. "I love you, Syd." He whispered. Part of him hoped she might've heard that, but she was in a deep sleep. He sighed and laid back. A few minutes later, the door swished open as Bridge walked in. Bridge turned on the light and saw Syd and Sky together. Bridge opened his mouth to say something but Sky quickly put his finger to his lips in a shh motion.

'What's going on?' Bridge mouthed.

'I'll tell you later.' Sky replied. Bridge raised an eyebrow to which Sky shook his head, knowing that his friend was asking if something had happened between them. Bridge went and grabbed his nightclothes, opting to change in the bathroom instead of the room where a female was currently in. Sky watched him leave and laid back, letting the aroma that was Syd lull him into sleep.


	4. Beneath the Surface

Title: It Isn't Easy

Disclaimer: We own nothing….Except for Dorianna, and a few lil folks here and there. The song "Cry" is owned by Mandy Moore and all her posse. The rangers and all that belong to Disney.

Note from Becky: You guys like our new name? We changed it cause I changed my penname to Z Carson and Teal changed hers to Syd Tate, so since we're Z and Syd, hence the new name.

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The sun poking through the curtains of the room awoke Syd the next morning. She opened her eyes and saw Bridge's sleeping form across the room. She frowned slightly. _Did Bridge sleep in Z's bed? _She blinked a few times as everything suddenly came back to her. _No, Bridge didn't sleep in Z's bed. I slept in Sky's bed. _She realized. She closed her eyes and sighed, feeling embarrassed. She turned on her back and realized she was alone in the bed. She wondered where Sky was, among other things……..Such as what could Bridge be thinking of her in Sky's bed? Did Z know she slept in the guys' room, and if she didn't, was she worried? Syd got up and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning forward a bit, scratching the back of her neck and smoothing down her bed head ridden blonde curls. The door of the room swished open as Sky walked in carrying his toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream and razor and had a towel draped over his shoulders.

"Good morning." He said. Syd looked up and couldn't help giggle at the sight. He had some residual shaving cream under his chin and the side of his face. Sky looked at her. "What?" He asked.

"You've got some shaving stuff on your face." She said.

"I do?" Sky asked.

"Yeah. Come here." She said, motioning for him to sit beside her. Sky did so. Syd turned to him and took the towel off his shoulders. She held his chin gently in one hand and the towel in the other. She lifted his face up and wiped the cream from under his chin then went and wiped the sides as well. "There, all gone." She said. She smiled at him. Sky took the towel from her.

"Thanks." He said. Syd nodded.

"Mmmhmm." She said. The two fell silent as their eyes met and it seemed like they were mutually hypnotized. Syd bit her lip as their gazes intensified. Without thinking, she slowly inched in, as did Sky. There reverie by Bridge emitting a groan as he woke up. Syd and Sky both jumped back.

"Morning, guys." Bridge said as he rubbed his eyes as he sat up.

"Morning," Syd mumbled. She got up. "Well, I've got to go." She said as she got to her feet. She went and left the room. Sky sighed and looked at his friend. Bridge looked back at Sky.

"So, what happened?" Bridge asked. Sky sighed and looked at the bed. He saw that Peanuts still sat there. "Did you tell her-" Sky held his hand up, telling Bridge to stop talking. Five seconds later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Sky said. The door swished open and Syd sheepishly walked in.

"Sorry, forgot-" Sky took Peanuts and walked over to Syd and handed her the toy. Syd smiled. "Thanks." She said. "See you guys later." She said to them both as she left. Syd hurried down the hallway, passing a few cadets who were still yawning from the lack of sleep they had. They took no notice to the disheveled Syd whose clothes were wrinkled and messy, as was her hair. She has slept in the same clothing as she'd left in yesterday and she felt disgusting. She stopped in front of her room and the door swished open. She stepped in and snuck over to her bed as not to wake the sleep Z. Syd gently peeled off her shirt and jeans and climbed into her PJ's and was slowly pulling the covers back when Z's voice startled her.

"So where exactly were you last night?" The yellow pajama clad female questioned. Syd sheepishly turned around and blushed.

"I kinda fell asleep in Sky and Bridge's room." She mumbled. Z's eyes widened as the shorter girl.

"Ooooh gossip." Z giggled sitting up in her bed. Syd just looked at her. She smiled softly and plopped down in her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

"I went to see him after I came back to see if he had Peanuts. He said that he didn't. I kinda started crying and he told me to close my eyes. Next thing I know, Peanut is in my hands, and I'm hugging Sky. After that I must have fallen asleep because I just remember waking up." She finished. Z looked at her.

"So….You fell asleep while you were hugging?" Z giggled. Syd rolled her eyes.

"Yes Z, I fell asleep while I was hugging him." She replied. Z snickered and Syd shot her a glance.

"I'm going back to bed." Syd grumbled before rolling over and pulling the covers over her head. Z snickered again. Maybe Bridge could give her more juicy details. She got out of bed and made her way to the guys' room. Just as she made it to the door, Bridge walked out of the room, dressed in green cotton PJs, his hair disheveled. He stopped short just as they were about to collide.

"Whoa, hey." Bridge chuckled. He couldn't help cast a glance at her current attire—yellow cotton pants that hugged her hips and a white thin cotton tank top with a yellow design on it. Bridge could've groaned in agony at how much skin was showing even though it was just her arms and part of her stomach, still it was more then what he was used to seeing. Z gave him a bright smile.

"Just the man I was looking for. She linked her arm with his. "Breakfast?"

"Sure." Bridge said, a little confused by what was going on. They made their way to the cafeteria. As the two entered the cafeteria Z looked at the man attached to her arm.

"I have a favor to ask." She told him. Bridge looked at her.

"Ok, shoot." He replied as they sat down at an empty table. Z smiled.

"Has Sky told you anything about our little pink ranger spending the night in his bed last night?" She asked. Bridge looked at her.

"I can honestly say that he has not said anything about Syd spending the night." He said. Z frowned then shrugged.

"Oh well." She said as she went over to the food machines to punch in what she wanted.

"…..Because I haven't had a chance to get him to talk about it." Bridge muttered to himself as he followed her. Z looked at him.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"I said are you getting pancakes?" He asked, covering quickly. Z smiled.

"You know me so well." She said as she hit the button for pancakes.

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Syd lay awake in her bed, facing the wall. She had told a little white lie to Z. She'd woken in the middle of the night next to Sky. His soft snoring had caused her to stir awake. At first she had been a little startled to find herself in Sky's muscular arms, but she relaxed after a few seconds. Sky had shifted a few minutes later, rolling onto his side and pulling Syd closer to him and staying like that. Syd had felt protected and safe in his arms. Sighing Syd rolled onto her back, closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep. She was soon enveloped in a dream.

"_You sure about this?" Sky asked. Syd was in the training room with him. They were alone. Syd smirked and got into a fighting stance._

"_Yup." She said. Sky returned the smirk and got into a stance as well._

"_Don't say I didn't warn you." He said. He threw punches at her, which she successfully blocked. Sky stepped back and raised his leg to kick her which she caught in mid-air. She crouched down and swept his other leg from under him, causing him to fall on his backside as she released his leg. Sky looked at her with a bit of a glare, which she responded to with a wink. Sky chuckled and got up to his feet. "All right, now you're gonna get it." He said. _

"_Bring it." Syd responded. Sky kicked her in the stomach, which caused her to stumble back a bit. Sky took this opportunity to get closer to throw a punch, but his fist never connected with her because she recovered quickly from the kick and grabbed his extended arm. She spun her back to him, holding his arm over her head and then flipping him over her shoulder. _

_  
"Oomph!" Sky exclaimed as his back hit the mat. Syd turned and straddle his hips. _

"_Give up?" She asked, grinning. Sky looked up at her. He pushed his hips up, knocking her off. Syd rolled onto the mat on her back. Both rangers got up and were ready to continue fighting. This continued for a while until both were in a bit of a stalemate. Each had gotten some hits in and blocked some hits. They were both panting and looked like they'd collapse any minute._

"_Give up?" Sky asked._

"_Nuh uh." Syd replied. Syd ran to him, about to tackle him. Suddenly, they weren't in the training room anymore. Syd felt herself fall and land on a soft surface. She looked around and saw she was on a bed with blue satin sheets. She looked up and saw Sky standing by her. He sat down on the bed next to her, looking into her eyes._

"_You sure about this?" He whispered. Syd merely nodded before his lips latched onto hers. The kiss escalated and they were both lying on the bed, kissing passionately. _

"_Sky." She gasped out as he kissed her neck. She looked up and saw pink rose petals falling from the ceiling on them. _

"_Syd…….." Sky said. "Syd……..Syd…."_

"SYD!" Z yelled. Syd gasped as she awoke from her dream. She sat up in bed and looked at her friend.

"What?" Syd asked.

"Come on, time to wake up. We've got training in an hour." Z said. Syd noticed that Z was already dressed in her training uniform.

"Oh." Syd said. She pulled her covers off of her and swung her legs out to the side, ready to get up.

"You might want to take a cold shower first." Z smirked. Syd looked at her.

"Excuse me?" She asked. Z smirked.

"A. Your face is so flushed, you won't need blush for a month, B. I do believe I heard you say a certain blue ranger's name in your sleep. Don't try and deny the nature of your lil dream." Z said. Syd's eyes widened and she buried her face in her hands.

"Oh my god." Syd muttered into her hands before grabbing her shower supplies and her uniform and towel and quickly exiting the room. She walked down the hallway, muttering under her breath about getting revenge on Z when she collided with someone. The two stumbled backwards slightly before looking up at each other. Syd's face darkened if it was possible. There in front of her was Sky.

"Hey Syd, you ok?" He questioned. Syd nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She reassured him. Sky's brow furrowed slightly as he looked at Syd' face.

"You don't look well Syd." He commented lifting his wrist to her forehead and pressing his bare skin against hers. He waited a few seconds before pulling it back slightly.

"I think you have a fever Syd." He told her. She blinked and looked at him.

"Uh no……the heater in my room is being weird…….." She said. Sky looked at her.

"Oh. Did you tell the matenance crew?" He asked. Syd nodded.

"Mmmhmm." She said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked. "You do feel really warm."

"Sky, it's sweet of you for asking, but I'm fine." She said. "See you at training." She said before quickly scurrying off to the bathroom. Sky watched her leave and sighed. _She probably wants to be far, far away from me after last night/this morning. I'm so repellant. _Sky thought to himself as he walked off. Syd let out a deep sigh as she entered the bathroom. She tossed her stuff onto the ground near the shower and peeled off her pajama bottoms and top. She stepped into the shower and yelped as the cold water hit her skin. 

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An hour later, all five B-squad rangers stood in the training room waiting to start. Commander Cruger stood in front of the cadets looking at them.

"Alright, Sam and Jack will run the dry ground obstacle course, Z and Bridge will remain in the training room and do virtual training, and Syd and Sky will run the wetlands obstacle course. Dismissed." The blue-headed dog spoke before turning and leaving. Sam appeared in morphed form next to Jack. The two disappeared out the south door to head to the beginning of the course. Bridge and Z walked over to the gun room to get their guns and helmets, leaving Sky and Syd standing in the training room.

"I guess we'd better go." Sky muttered. He hated running this particular course, more than the mud course. Syd nodded.

"Lets go." The two rangers headed out of the west door and down the steps. Ahead of them lay a series of caves and swamp areas that alongside the mud course, was one of the most difficult. They approached the start line, they took the small emergency packs with them and started running the slightly wet trail. They ran for about 10 minutes before the trees began to disappear and the rock walls began to close in overhead. They stopped momentarily so they could take a drink of water, and get their flashlights out. After a minute's rest they continued into the caves. The two slipped around the dark caves, often slowing so they wouldn't hurt themselves. Syd was tiring really quickly. Although Sky wouldn't admit it, but this course was starting to get to him. They stopped again and Sky checked his watch. He tapped it slightly and looked at Syd.

"Do you know what time it is?" He asked. Syd looked at him and shook her head.

"No, I'm not wearing a watch today." She replied. Sky frowned and looked at his watch again. "If my watch is right, it's past 6pm." He told her. Syd looked at him. She knew that this course was one of the longer ones, but they should have been back by now.

"You don't think were lost do you?" She questioned. Sky shook his head. "Of course not. We'll go a little further and see where that takes us alright?" He asked her. Syd just nodded. They continued along a little farther before Syd's legs gave out and she slumped down against the stonewall. Sky dropped down next to her and pulled his emergency bag off his back and dropped it between them. He dug through it and handed Syd some crackers and an energy bar. He took some for himself as well. They ate in silence. Taking a few gulps of water, Sky glanced at his watch again. The frown on his face increased and he reached for his morpher. He flipped it open and spoke.

"Sky to Bridge, Come in Bridge." Waiting a moment, Sky received no response in return. He attempted again, but this time to Jack, and got the same thing, dead air. Syd looked at him tiredly.

"Sky, we're so far below ground that there's no signal." She murmured. He nodded and stood up.

"Can you go a little farther?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yeah." She replied standing up. They slowly picked up the pace and were jogging by the time they reached the water section of the caves. Sky vaulted himself onto each stone to cross the musky smelling water and waited on the other side for Syd. Syd did the same thing as Sky, but as she went to jump onto the third stone, her foot slipped between the rocks. Syd's body twisted and there was a loud crack before the pink ranger fell awkwardly into the water. Sky ran forward and threw himself into the water. Diving under the surface he grabbed her under the arms and lifted her body upwards. As they surfaced, Syd gasped for air, spitting water out of her lungs and taking deep breaths. She balanced herself on the bottom of the waterbed with one leg, as Sky gently unhooked the other leg from the rocks. He successfully unhooked her leg. Syd sat on the waterbed, still coughing up water. Sky sat beside her and rubbed her back, doing what he could to help her rid herself of the water.

"You all right?" He asked after her coughs subsided. Syd nodded weakly.

"I think so." She said. "Should we keep going?" She asked.

"We should probably rest a little bit." He suggested. He looked at her, still worried about her. "Are you sure you're okay? That fall was pretty bad." Syd pushed some wet hair out of her face.

"I'm fine." She told him. "Come on, let's keep going." She said. She got up on her feet, only to give out a pain filled shriek as she began to fall back. Sky quickly got up to his feet and caught her.

"Syd." He exclaimed, worriedly. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"My ankle." She whimpered. Sky took a look down at her ankle and cringed slightly. Her ankle was indeed the source of the problems. He stood up and looked at her.

"Syd, I'm gonna lift you up and find a place that's more comfortable so we can rest for a bit." He told her. Syd nodded and waited as Sky gently placed his arm under her knees and lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder. Sky walked for a few minutes before stopping and kneeling. He gently slid Syd from his arms, careful not to jar her ankle even more and searched through his pack for something to help make a splint. After a few moments Sky had only come across rope. He removed his jacket and gently wrapped it around Syd's ankle. He secured it in place with the rope.

"It's not a splint, but it should work for now." He reassured her. Syd nodded and looked at him.

"Sky, you're going to freeze." She told him. He shook his head and removed a thick flannel blanket from his pack. He wrapped it around his shoulders and moved over to where Syd was, leaning against the wall. He sat behind her, her sitting between his legs, and Sky pulled her towards his chest. He wrapped the rest of the blanket around them both.

"Now neither of us will be cold." He reassured her. Syd sighed as she rest her head against his chest.

"Are we just going to stay down here forever?" Syd asked. Sky sighed deeply.

"We've been down here for six hours, sooner or later someone's going to get worried and they'll send someone down to look for us." Sky said. Syd sighed and just let herself have faith in his words. And, she had to admit, even though she was in pain, it did feel nice to be in his arms. Elsewhere, in the girls' room, Z lay stretched out on her bed, Bridge sitting across her legs his back against the wall. Jack was on the other side of the room, sitting cross-legged on Syd's bed. They had been back for close to four hours and there had been no sight of Sky or Syd. Kat and Cruger had been running a search, so far they'd found nothing. The three were unusually quiet, worrying about their friends.

"I hope they're ok." Z spoke. Jack nodded.

"Sky and Syd are good rangers, they won't let this get them down." He reassured her. Bridge watched Jack carefully, trying to pick up on any indication that Jack and Syd were in fact together. Bridge would've thought Jack would be pacing the room like a madman or would be parked practically right under Cruger's armpits and demanding a status report on the search for Syd and Sky. Jack caught the green ranger staring at him. "Something wrong, Bridge?" Jack asked. Bridge blinked and shook his head.

"Uh, no, sorry, just zoned out." He apologized. Jack dismissed it with a nod. Z sighed.

"I'm really worried about them." Z said.

"I thought you hated Sky." Bridge said. Z looked at him.

"I don't hatehim. I just severely dislike him. Besides, I'm going to feel like crap if something horrendous happened to him and the last thing I said to him wasn't exactly oozing with kindness." Z sighed.

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Syd woke a few hours later to the scratchy blanket rubbing against her cheek. She was now currently lying on her side, and Sky was nowhere to be seen. Sitting up, careful not to jar her leg, she took a look around the dark cavern. She groped around for a flashlight and cursed when she couldn't find it. It dawned on her that Sky would most likely have it with him. She leaned back against the cave wall and closed her eyes. Soft footsteps caused Syd's eyes to flash open and stare into the darkness. A light beam turned the corner and connected with Syd's eyes, causing her to gasp and cover them quickly.

"Bright." She muttered. Sky swung the light downwards and Sky walked forward a bit.

"Sorry Syd." He replied. Syd looked at him. He walked over to her.

"Where'd you go?" She asked as Sky resumed his position beside her.

"Just went to look for a way out." Sky said. Syd sighed.

"How long have we been down here?" She asked.

"A long time." Sky replied, knowing Syd really didn't want to know how long it had really been. Syd sighed. She looked at her ankle and frowned.

"This is just great." She said.

"What?" Sky asked.

"Well, if my parents or Stacey find out I've been injured twice in one week, let's just say this will give them more ammunition for the fight of why I shouldn't be a ranger." She said. Sky looked at her.

"Why did you join SPD?" He asked. This was something he always wondered. Sydney Drew was a famous Olympian, singer, and could've been a model if she had wanted to, why would she join the academy? Syd looked at him.

"Well, I wanted to break out of the helpless girlie girl ideal people had of me." She explained. "Although, getting hurt this many times is probably contradicting that." She chuckled. "Besides, having these powers we all seem to have, it was only expected that I should try and do something other then smile pretty for a camera, don't you think?" Sky nodded. He was grateful that she had joined SPD. He sighed and stood back up.

"We'd better do a bit more traveling, hopefully we'll find something." He muttered. He knelt down in front of Syd.

"Think you can climb onto my back?" He asked. Syd nodded and gingerly pushed herself up onto one foot and wrapped her arms around Sky's neck. He grabbed her knees and swung her up. He stood and adjusted Syd slightly before heading in the direction he'd come earlier. They walked in silence. After a while, it got on Syd's nerves.

"So, what did your mom think when you became a ranger, like your dad?" She finally asked, attempting to make conversation. Sky sighed a bit.

"She wasn't exactly happy about it at first. But she knew this is what I wanted to do and is just proud of me."

"Wow, that must be great---Having people support you like that." Syd commented. Sky nodded.

"Yeah I guess." He replied. Syd noted that Sky had gone back into his shell for the moment.

"Sorry." She murmured softly. Sky stopped and turned his head, looking at her.

"For what?" He asked. Syd looked into his blue eyes.

"For mentioning your dad. I know you two were close, and it - I'm sorry." She finished. Sky turned forward and kept walking.

"Don't be." He said. "I mean, it's okay." He said.

"I just figured, ya know, that you didn't like to talk about him." Syd said, referring to how he never really talked about his father.

"It's not that." Sky said. "I mean, yeah, even after all these years, it does still hurt to talk about it, but it's okay." He assured her.

"Well, you got all quiet on me, so I figured-"

"I got all quiet because you make it sound like no one supports or cares about you." He said. "I mean, I'm sure your parents disapprove of it all just because they don't want you to get hurt." Sky said.

"I guess you're right." She said. "Still, I wish they would at least once notice how much good we're all doing and say they're proud of me. Ya know?"

"They are. Even if they don't say it, I'm sure they're bursting with pride for you." Sky told her. He turned his head and looked at her from the corner of his eye. "And even if they don't…..You've got us." He told her. Syd smiled.

"I know." She said.

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Bridge, Z and Jack stood in front of Kat and Doggie, with Sam floating as a ball of light beside them.

"I'm sending Sam down into the back entrance of the cave to look for Syd and Sky." He told them.

"I want you three to follow behind him and look for anything suspicious." He finished. The four responded with a "Yes sir!" Saluting, they quickly left the command center. Kat turned and looked at Cruger.

"Do you think Grumm is behind this?" She asked. Doggie nodded.

"There's no doubt in my mind that someone has tampered with that cave course. And if they aren't careful, Syd and Sky may leave the cave with a lot more than bumps and bruises." He growled. By the back entrance, the four rangers gathered together. Jack hefted a pack on as Bridge grabbed one. He struggled to get his on when suddenly it slid on his shoulders. He turned to see Z standing there with her own pack on. She gave him a smile, which he returned.

"Thanks." He said.

"No problem." She said. They turned to Jack.

"All right, Sam's going to lead the way." He said.

"Aye, aye." Sam said. He floated through the entrance. Jack followed him. Bridge followed Jack and Z brought up the rear. The four of them walked---Or, well, three of them walked and one floated—down the dank smelling corridors.

"I'm sure Syd's just loving this place." Z commented. Bridge and Jack chuckled.

"After we get them out of here, I think Syd's going to lock herself in the bathroom for a week." Jack said. Z laughed. Suddenly, a rumbling was heard as the ground shook.

"What's going on?" Bridge exclaimed has he stumbled to the side.

"Not a clue." Jack said as he braced himself against a wall of the course. Z fell back and landed on her backside. Elsewhere in the course, Sky stumbled as the ground shook. He released Syd for fear that he might fall back on top of her. Syd held onto his shoulders, not wanting to put too much wait on her hurt ankle.

"Now, I know this isn't part of the course." Sky commented. He turned and pressed his back against the wall and pulled Syd close against him, bracing both of them against the wall as he waited the rumbling out.

"What could be causing this?" Syd asked.

"Who knows." Sky replied. Syd clutched tightly to Sky. Sky looked at her. "We'll be okay." He told her. Syd nodded, taking his words to heart. Back with the others, Bridge reached down and pulled Z up to her feet and had her stand against the wall. She gave him a grateful look. Suddenly, a large wall slid up from the ground between them and Jack and Sam. The rumbling stopped. Z went to the wall.

"Jack?" She called out. "Jack? Are you guys okay?" She asked, worried.

"We're okay, what about you?" Came Jack's reply.

"We're okay." Bridge answered.

"It looks like whoever did this doesn't want us traveling in big groups." Sam said. Jack looked at his floating comrade.

"Guess so." He said. He turned back to the wall. "I guess we don't have any other choice but to split up." He said to the other two. "Just keep looking for Sky and Syd, hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this soon." He said. Z sighed.

"Be careful, Jack." She said. She lightly touched the wall.

"Don't worry." Jack assured her. Z sighed and walked the other way. Bridge went to follow. "Bridge." Jack called. Bridge turned back.

"Yeah?"

"Keep her safe." He said. Bridge nodded, then remembered Jack couldn't see him.

"I will." He said. He turned and went after Z. Bridge caught up to her and gently touched her shoulder. Z looked at him. "You okay?" He asked. Z smiled weakly and nodded.

"Yeah." She said. "I guess I'm just worried, ya know? I mean at first I just thought maybe Sky and Syd got lost down here or something, but now, I'm really worried. What's going on here?" She asked. Bridge stopped.

"I could try finding out." He said. Z stopped and stood off to the side, getting what he meant. Bridge took off the glove on this right hand. He slowly waved it in the air. There was a dark red glow in the air.

"What is it?" Z asked.

"Well, it certainly not just some new twist to training made by Kat and Cruger." Bridge confirmed. He put his hand down as the glow dissipated. "Looks like Grumm or someone of that nature tampered with the course." He said. Z sighed.

"Which only means we've got to find Sky and Syd even sooner." Z said. She walked up to him and went to grab his hand. "Come on." She said. Bridge noticed this and quickly pulled his hand away.

"Don't." He said. Z looked at him.

"Sorry….Did I do something wrong?" She asked. Bridge put the glove back on.

"No, sorry, didn't mean to sound like that." He said. "I just meant don't touch my hand." He said.

"And that sounds so much better." Z teased.

"It has to do with my genetic powers." He explained. "I don't know what it is, but when people touch my bare right hand things get a little wonky."

"Wonky?" Z asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, wonky." He said. "Come on, let's go." He said as he kept walking. Z shook her head and followed.


	5. Morganna's Foiled Plan and The Climb

Title: It Isn't Easy

Disclaimer: We own nothing….Except for Dorianna, and a few lil folks here and there. The song "Cry" is owned by Mandy Moore and all her posse. The rangers and all that belong to Disney.

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Sky continued to hold Syd against him for a few minutes until the rumbling in the ground stopped. She slowly pulled away from Sky and looked at him.

"What was that?" She asked. Sky shook his head.

"I don't know Syd...I have no idea." He replied. He put his hands out in front of him and felt around. The palms of his hands connected with a cold rock wall. He frowned and moved away from Syd slightly. The wall was still there a few feet away.

"That's weird." He muttered. "What's weird?" Syd questioned. He looked at her.

"There's a wall here that wasn't here before." He replied. Syd blinked.

"That is weird." She replied. Nodding Sky kneeled down, his back facing Syd.

"Come on, we should get moving." He told her. Syd wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her legs around his back. Sky continued walking down the cave, Syd clinging to his back.

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Morganna stood under the cave smiling like a mad women. She had separated the Omega and Red rangers from the yellow and green. She had managed to prevent the pink princess from walking, meaning that she was the easiest target. The blue ranger, her companion on the trip was slowly wearing himself out by carrying the injured girl and running on a lack of sleep in order to protect her. Smiling Morganna pressed a few buttons and a screen popped up. It was a relatively dry part of the course but mostly downhill. Laughing again she pressed a few more buttons and the course became instantly soaked with water. Morganna grinned.

"Soon, all the other rangers will be incapacitated." Morganna said to herself. The screen's image changed to that of Z and Bridge walking through the course. She touched the screen with a dreamy look on her face. "And then, green ranger, you will be all mine."

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Syd and Sky came to a clearing in the cave where the ground dropped down a hill and then continued around a corner. Sky slowly lowered Syd to the ground and kneeled in front of her.

"I'm gonna walk down first, and then just slowly slide yourself down after I'm at the bottom ok?" He asked. Syd nodded. Sky stood up and slowly inched himself down the incline. He stumbled slightly as a piece of rock gave way but caught his balance. He stopped for a moment before moving his foot again. This time however, Sky never caught his balance. His foot went out from under him, causing the blue ranger to trip sideways down the hill.

"Sky!" Syd screamed as he continued to crash down the hill. When he hit the bottom, he lay on his back, not moving. "Sky?" She called out, no answer. She slowly made her way to the hill. She limped close to the edge of the hill but the wet ground slid under her, causing her to fall. Syd shrieked as she rolled down the hill. She landed at the bottom of the hill, covered in mud. Syd sighed as she sat up. She looked over at Sky who was lying on his stomach. "Sky?" She asked. She grunted as she pulled herself closer to him. "Sky, come on, this isn't funny." She said, praying he was just messing with her. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up, turning him over onto his back. She gasped as she saw a cut on his forehead right above his right eyebrow. The cut was bleeding. Syd touched his cheek. "Sky?" She asked, now feeling genuinely scared. "Sky, please wake up." She pleaded. Syd reached into her pack and took out the med kit. In it there was some disinfectant spray, cloths, gauze and generally anything anyone would need for simple medical care. She sat up and took out the can of spray and a cloth. She brought the cloth to Sky's wound and gently wiped away some of the blood from his face. Once she had gotten enough of it off, she shook the can of spray. "It's a good thing you're not conscious," she said. "Cause this is going to sting." She opened the can and sprayed the disinfectant on his wound. After she put enough of it on the wound, she took out a thick square piece of gauze and placed it on the wound. She then took out the tape and tore off two pieces, putting them each side of the gauze, securing it on his head. After she was done, she put all the items, sans the cloth she used to clean his wound, back into the kit. She tossed the used cloth aside and looked at Sky. "Come on, Sky." She said. "Wake up." Syd sat next to Sky, holding his hand tightly. She had removed Sky's jacket from her ankle and placed it under his head.

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Z and Bridge walked about the long corridors of the course. It had been an hour since they had been separated from Jack and Sam. Z sighed and stopped, bending over and leaning on her knees. Bridge looked at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Z looked at him.

"Nothing." She said. Bridge looked ahead and saw some rocks a few feet ahead. He took Z's arm and pulled her up. "Come on." He said. He pulled her to the rocks and had her sit down. "Let's take a break." He said, knowing she was probably tired and needed a break. Z shook her head and got up.

"No, we've got to keep looking for Syd and Sky." Z protested.

"We will, after we take a break." He said, gently pushing her back down. Z sighed, giving in. Bridge smiled; happy he won and sat beside her. He pulled his pack up on his lap and opened it, pulling out two bottles of water. He handed one to her. "Here, drink." He said. "We don't need you fainting from dehydration." He said. Z gave a grateful smile and took it.

"Thanks." She said. Bridge nodded. "Anytime Z." He replied taking a sip of his own water. He looked around the cave. "So..." He spoke. Z chuckled softly.

"Talkative aren't we?" She questioned. Bridge chuckled nervously. He took a swig of his own water. Z looked at him. "Is something on your mind?" She asked. Bridge shook his head.

"No." Bridge said quickly. Z rolled her eyes.

"Right, that's convincing." Z said. Bridge looked at her. He did have something on his mind, more specifically, his strong feelings for her was on his mind. But he wasn't ready to exactly talk about it. He knew that Z wasn't going to let up until he gave her something, so he wracked his brain to think of something. He finally got an idea. _Sky's going to kill me, but oh well. _He thought to himself.

"So, I'm sure Jack's really worried about Syd." Bridge finally said. Z looked at him.

"Well, of course he is." Z said.

"You mean, you know?" Bridge asked. He was so sure that Jack and Syd were being secretive. Z gave him an odd look.

"Know what?" She asked.

"About Syd and Jack." He said.

"……What about Syd and Jack?" Z asked.

"So you don't know?" Bridge asked.

"Bridge." Z exclaimed, exasperated. "How am I supposed to know if I know or don't know if you don't tell me what the heck you're talking about?" Bridge gave her a blank look.

"Huh?" He asked. Z rolled her eyes.

"Great, you've got me sounding like you." She muttered. She sighed. "Okay, just tell me what you're talking about."

"So you don't kn-" Bridge began, which got him a glare from Z. "Ok ok!" Bridge replied holding his hands in the air.

"So what is it that you're trying to say?"

"That Jack is probably really worried about Syd, you know with them being all togetherish." He finished. Z looked at him blankly before bursting out laughing.

"You think... Jack and Syd... hahahah!" She laughed. Bridge looked at her.

"I think I missed something here..." He trailed off. Z's laughter subsided long enough to look at Bridge.

"Syd and Jack aren't together Bridge... They're just good friends. Syd likes someone else." She replied.

"Really?" Bridge asked. "Who?" Z looked at him.

"Sorry, I plead the fifth." She said.

"How is telling me who Syd likes incriminating to you?"

"Well, it's not incriminating, but it sure as hell hazardous to my health cause Syd would kill me." Z said. Bridge looked forward and took a swig of his water.

"Hmm, I always thought you'd be able to take her if such a thing happened. Guess I was wrong." He said, obviously trying to bait her. Z gave him a glare and playfully shoved him.

"Let's keep looking." She said, standing up. Bridge chuckled and followed.

"Come on, give me a little hint." Bridge pleaded. Z sighed and kept walking. Bridge followed her. "Come on, the curiosity is killing me."

"I'll perform the eulogy at your funeral." Z replied.

"You're funny." Bridge said dryly. "Come on, tell me." Bridge asked. Z sighed and turned to him.

"How about this, I'll tell you when she tells the guy she likes." Z said.

"But what if she never does?"

"Then you'll never know." Z shrugged. She grinned. She loved messing with him like this. It was fun. It actually took her mind off of being sick with worry over her best friend-slash-roommate. "Now can we drop it?" She asked, getting a little annoyed. Bridge sighed.

"All right, sorry." He said.

"It's okay. Come on." She said. They continued looking for Sky and Syd. They continued walking for a few minutes when Z got tired of holding the bottle of water in her hand. "Hang on." She said as she kneeled to put the bottle in her pack. Bridge stood by and waited while Z maneuvered the bottle in her all ready full pack. A slight sound caught Bridge's attention and he looked forward. His eyes widened.

"Uh, Z?" He asked.

"What?" Z asked, still working on her pack.

"I think all doubts have been removed of what caused this whole thing with the course." He said.

"Huh?" Z asked. She finally got the bottle in and stood up and saw what Bridge was referring to. "Krybots!" She exclaimed. Right before them there were a group of Krybots, ready to attack. She quickly got in a fighting stance. Bridge did so as well.

"Aren't we a bit outnumbered here?" He asked.

"Somehow, I don't think they care." Z said. She slid her pack off and let it fall to the ground. "Let's do this." She said. She ran and started fighting some of the Krybots. Bridge sighed and put his pack down as well and took on the other half of Krybots. The two of them fought the Krybots, kicking, punching and flipping as best as they could in the somewhat restricted space they were in. Suddenly, two Krybots grabbed Z, one holding each of her arms securely. Z struggled against them. "Hands off!" Z grunted. Bridge looked over to see Z in trouble. He flipped over the back of a Krybot to try and get to her but another Krybot grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back. Bridge struggled against the Krybot. Another Krybot hit him in the stomach hard, knocking the wind out of the green ranger. Bridge groaned as he fell to one knee. Z saw this. "Bridge!" She exclaimed worriedly. Elsewhere, Morganna watched the scene play out.

"Take him." She said to herself, as if she was coaching the Krybots through the screen. "Take him now." She said. She had been planning this for weeks—since she found out this course existed. She decided to tamper with it, creating the moderately challenging course into a labyrinth. She knew the rangers would have to use it eventually and she was fully prepared to work with whatever rangers did. Had it been Bridge and someone else who came originally, Morganna would have simply had the Krybots attack them and capture the green ranger. Of course, having Syd and Sky being told to go through the course didn't hurt her plan. She knew that once the two rangers had been down there for a long time, it would lure the other rangers down to find them. And then her plan went into work. She had originally planned on separating Bridge from the other three rangers, but having the yellow ranger with him didn't hurt her plan either. Z would just have to watch Bridge be taken away. "I'll get my love _and _the pesky yellow ranger will have to deal with guilt, this will work perfectly." She grinned. Back with Bridge and Z, Z continued trying to get free. She soon realized the Krybots weren't easing up.

"All right then." She said to herself. Her eyes glowed as several duplicates of herself appeared. Half of them went to assist Bridge and the other half worked on the Krybots that were holding her. The Zs managed to fight off the Krybots holding Z. Z then joined in on fighting them. After a while, the Krybots were beaten into submission and vanished. Z turned to see Bridge kneeling ground, gasping for breath. "Bridge!" She said. She went over to him and gently took his shoulders, pulling him back so he sat on the ground, his back resting against her side. "You okay?" She asked. Bridge nodded.

"Yeah, let me just catch my breath." He said. Morganna saw all of this and gave out an angry growl.

"No!" She said, stomping her foot. "No, no, no, no, no!" She said, going into a tantrum. "Not fair, not fair!" She made the screen disappear and also disappeared back to Grumm's ship, pouting. Back with Bridge and Z, Z rubbed Bridge's back as he caught his breath. After a few minutes, Bridge was able to breathe normally again.

"Stay here." Z said. She got up and went back to retrieve their packs. She brought them back over to Bridge and sat down with him. She opened her morpher and set it to communicator mode.

"Jack, Sam, Bridge and I were just attacked by Krybots; you guys should probably be on alert." She said. All she got back was static. "Jack? Sam? Are you guys there?" She asked. Bridge looked at her.

"It won't work down here." He pointed out.

"But shouldn't it work if whoever we're trying to reach is also down here?" Z asked. Bridge realized she was right.

"I guess whatever Grumm did to keep us down here is jamming our communications." He said. Z sighed and shut off the morpher. She put it away and looked at Bridge.

"All right, I guess we'll just have to hope they're okay." She said.

"I'm sure they will be." Bridge assured her.

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Back at the bottom of the hill, Sky groaned as consciousness slowly returned to him. Syd heard him and looked at him.

"Sky?" She asked, hopefully. Sky opened his eyes and saw Syd's face.

"Syd?" He asked. Syd smiled.

"Oh, you're okay!" She exclaimed happily. She launched herself onto him and hugged him, which was a little awkward since he was still lying on his back. Sky sat up, forcing Syd to let him go. He groaned and touched his head.

"My head is killing me." He said.

"Well, that could be expected, since you did hit it and were bleeding." Syd pointed out. Sky touched the other side of his head and felt the makeshift bandage. He looked up at Syd and realized she was covered in mud. He couldn't help chuckle a bit.

"What happened to you?" He asked. Syd suddenly felt very self conscious.

"I fell and rolled down the hill." She said meekly. Sky smiled.

"It's cute." He said. Syd looked at him. Sky's eyes widened a bit as he recalled what he had just said. "………Uh….We should probably try and find a way out of here." He said quickly. Syd nodded, not sure what to make of his previous comment she just decided to go along with his idea. Sky jumped up to his feet. He stumbled a bit. Syd looked at him.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Sky nodded.

"Yeah, just got a bit of a head rush." He said. Sky's head cleared and he bent down. He took Syd's hand with one hand and placed the other on her back, helping her up. Syd put her weight on him, not wanting to put it on her hurt ankle. Syd looked at him; he still looked a little dazed.

"Maybe we should rest a bit." She said. "You don't look too good." She said. She then realized Sky would probably let his pride tell him he was all right and he'd insist on continuing on. "Plus, I'm starting to get really tired." She quickly added. Sky looked at her.

"Okay." He said. He helped her move over to the wall and set her down on the ground. Once she was sitting and resting against the wall, Sky went over and grabbed his jacket Syd's pack from the ground. He figured his was probably lost at the top of the hill. He shrugged and went back to Syd. He set the things down and sat next to her.

"I wonder if anyone's looking for us yet." Syd said softly. Sky looked at her. He put an arm around her shoulders. Syd looked at him and smiled at his comforting manner. She sighed and got closer to him, resting her head against his chest, snuggling into him. She yawned a bit, her exhaustion making itself known.

"I bet they are Syd... Don't worry, they'll be here soon." He reassured her. He wrapped his other arm around her loosely and rubbed her arm gently. "They'll be here soon..." Syd yawned again.

"Thanks, Sky." She said sleepily.

"For what?" Sky asked.

"For taking care of me down here." She began. "For finding Peanuts." She added. Sky smiled. "Why did you say you weren't able to find anything anyway?" She asked.

"I wanted to surprise you, I guess." He said. Syd smiled. She was finding it harder and harder to keep her eyes open. Sky looked down at her.

"Sleep." He told her, seeing how tired she was.

"What if the others get here?" She asked.

"Don't worry; I'll wake you up when they get here." He told her. Syd nodded against his chest. Her eyes drifted shut as sleep finally claimed her. Sky rested his head against the wall and soon found himself sleeping as well.

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Elsewhere, Sam and Jack were walking along the course. Sam lit the way ahead of Jack and he followed the ball of light. Jack sighed.

"We've been down here for hours." Jack said. "Where the heck are they?"

"Maybe Z and Bridge found them?" Sam suggested.

"I tried contacting them, all I got was static." Jack said. They continued onward until Jack's foot caught on something. "Whoa!" He exclaimed as he tripped. Sam floated back to him.

"You okay?" He asked. Jack pushed himself up to his hands and knees.

"Yeah." He said. He sat back and turned to see what he just tripped over. He squinted to see through the low light. "It's a pack." He said. He looked closely and saw the blue edges of it. "It's Sky's!" He said.

"Then they've got to be around here." Sam said. Jack stood up and picked up Sky's pack. He looked around.

"Yeah, but where?" He asked. Sam floated up ahead a bit then came back to Jack.

"There's an incline a few feet up." He said. "Maybe they're down there." He said. Jack nodded and followed the ball of light to the edge. "I'll go down and see if they're there." Sam said. He floated down.

"See them?" Jack called down. Sam floated along and stopped.

"Jack! They're down here!" He called back. Jack gave a relieved sigh.

"Hang on, I'm coming down." He said. He carefully slid down the incline and dusted himself off once he got to the bottom. He stood up and went over to where he saw Sam floating. There, against the wall were Sky and Syd. Jack noticed the bandage on his forehead.

"Looks like they're sleeping." Sam said. Jack kneeled beside Sky and shook his shoulder.

"Sky? Sky, wake up." He said. Sky opened his eyes he looked up and saw Jack and Sam. He sat up.

"Hey." He said.

"You guys okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, just had some tumbles here and there." He said. He looked over at Syd. "Syd." He said softly. "Syd, wake up, they're here." He said. Syd opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She rubbed her eyes and looked up. She smiled.

"Took you guys long enough to find us." She said. Jack went over to her.

"Sorry." He smiled. Syd threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Jack hugged her back.

"I knew you'd find us." She said. Sky watched the two hug. He felt one jealous pang after another. His attention was torn away from them when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to see Sam in his ranger form.

"Can you get up?" He asked.

"Yeah." Sky said. Sam took the blue ranger's hand and pulled him up to his feet. Jack took Syd's arm and helped her to her feet. She stumbled against him and whimpered. Sky looked over.

"She broke her ankle." He pointed out. Jack nodded at the blue ranger.

"All right." He said. Jack knelt down, his back facing Syd. "Alright Syd, climb on and I'll carry you out." Jack commented. Syd nodded and pushed herself onto Jack's back. Jack hefted her up and went over to the edge of the pit, ready to climb out. Sam and Sky followed.

"We'll stay down here, make sure you don't fall or anything." Sam said. Jack nodded. He turned his head to Syd.

"Hold on tight." He said.

"Right." Syd said. She held on to him tightly as he released her legs so he could climb up. Jack climbed/crawled up the hill, careful not to trip or anything for fear of dropping Syd. Sky's face turned into a deep scowl, one that Sam noticed.

"What's wrong?" He prodded the brooding blue ranger. Sky looked at him.

"Nothing." He said. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned back to watch Jack and Syd. "I'm just itching to get out of here." He said. Sam decided to accept that and turned back forward. Jack gripped the slippery ground as he continued upward. Suddenly, his foot slipped from under him and he fell, hitting his knee. He groaned. Syd gasped as the jostling made her loose her grip on Jack. She screamed as she slid down the hill. "Syd!" Sky exclaimed. He and Sam rushed forward to the edge of the pit. Syd shrieked as she continued sliding down. She tried to grab onto a groove in the ground but she couldn't seem to hold on.

"Syd!" Jack yelled. Syd closed her eyes as she expected to hit the ground. Instead, she felt strong hands grab her around the waist. She opened her eyes and saw that she had slid completely down the hill but someone had stopped her from hitting the ground. She looked up and saw Sky bent over her. He held her around the waist. Their eyes met.

"You okay?" He asked softly. Syd felt herself loosing herself in his eyes.

"Yeah." She answered breathlessly. Sky effortlessly lifted Syd up, careful not to jar her ankle and placed her down so that she was standing on her good leg, leaning against him.

"Do you want me to carry you up?" He asked. Syd simply nodded.

"Is she okay?" Jack yelled down, shaking Syd out of her trance. She blinked and looked upwards.

"I'm fine, Jack. Sky's going to help me up." She yelled back. Sky looked at her and then up the hill. He didn't want to chance carrying her on his back and dropping her like Jack had. He looked back at her.

"I want you to try climbing up the hill in front of her. That way if you fall I can just catch you." He explained. Syd nodded, understanding why he didn't want to carry her on his back. "Just crawl up." He added, not wanting her to aggravate her ankle.

"Okay." She said.

"Do you want me to wait down here?" Sam asked.

"You should go check on Jack." Sky replied. Sam nodded and transformed into his light form and floated up. Syd watched Sam leave and then turned back to Sky.

"You ready?" He asked. Syd nodded. Sky helped her hobble over to the bottom of the hill and slowly loosened his grip on her arm as she lowered herself onto her hands and knees. Once she was on her knees, he let go so she could plant her hands down.

"All right." She said, announcing that she was going to start moving. Sky stood by and let her crawl up a little bit before going after her. He bent over a bit so that he could use his hands to help himself walk up the hill. He had to move slowly so as not to crowd Syd. They continued going up.

"You all right?" Sky asked, worried that she might be hurting herself.

"I'm fine." Syd assured him. Sky nodded and continued. They continued for a bit and then Syd began to slip a bit.

"You okay?" Sky asked.

"Yeah." She said, seconds later she began to loose her balance. Sky quickly closed the distance between them and put a hand out to hold her up. He then realized where his hand landed.

"Uh……..Sky……?" Syd asked nervously. The placement of his hand was making her pulse quicken and her cheeks turn red. Sky's eyes widened.

"Sorry." He quickly said. He quickly moved his hand up so it was on the small of her back and not on it's previous spot for fear that had it stayed there a second longer, he could most definitely expect a knee in the groin by Syd. Syd gave a soft nervous laugh.

"That's okay." She said. Part of her wished it hadn't just been an accident. _Jeez…..You're sick. _She scolded herself. Jack and Sam watched as the two rangers who were still climbing the incline interacted. Jack gave a light chuckle as Syd blushed and Sky quickly removed his hand from her ass. 

"They make a cute couple don't they?" Sam asked quietly. Jack nodded.

"If Syd would admit to Sky that she has a massive crush on him, they wouldn't have to be so... weird around each other." Jack replied. Sam looked at him.

"She has a crush on him?" He asked, a little surprised. Jack nearly blanched. _Oh, Syd's going to kill me._ He thought.

"Oh…..No, not that she has a crush on him………Not that I know if she does………I was just joking about how they are……..that if she had a massive crush on him, she should tell them."

"…Huh?" Sam asked, not getting Jack's ramblings.

"…….Syd doesn't have a crush on Sky."

"Oh, okay." Sam said. Back with Syd and Sky, the two did their best to recover from the embarrassing incident and made it to the top of the kill. Sam grabbed Syd's arm and helped her up once she was within reach. After she was up, Sam helped her over to the side where he had her sit on a rock. He then went back over to Jack and each of them grabbed one of Sky's arms and pulled him up.

"Thanks." Sky said once he was up.

"No problem." Jack said, clapping his friend on the back. Instinticly, Sky tensed, still feeling jealous. Jack noticed this and looked at his friend.

"You all right? You seem tense."

"Yeah, being down here for this long is like killing my back." He said. Jack nodded slightly, not believing a word of it. Both Jack and Sky moved over to where Syd and Sam were. Jack knelt down in front of Syd.

"How's your ankle?" He questioned. Syd winced as she pulled up the pant leg of her uniform up and attempted to pull her boot off. She pulled the zipper down to the bottom and gently slid the heavy boot off her foot. The three males in front of her peered down at the injury and grimaced.

"We really need to get her to the infirmary soon." Sky said. The other two agreed. Jack turned to Sam.

"Sam, go see if you can find Bridge and Z." He ordered.

"Got it." Sam said as he converted to his light form again and floated away.


	6. Taken

Title: It Isn't Easy

Disclaimer: We own nothing….Except for Dorianna, and a few lil folks here and there. The song "Cry" is owned by Mandy Moore and all her posse. The rangers and all that belong to Disney.

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Sky, Syd and Jack remained at the top of the hill, waiting for Sam to return. Jack paced around slowly, the rocks crunching beneath his feet. Sky watched as Jack did this. Normally, the red ranger was the one who would be somewhat laid back and more relaxed, but in this particular situation, Sky completely understood why he was pacing. Firstly, was Syd. Sky scowled slightly at the thought of the pink and red rangers being a couple. Jack was always so kinda towards Syd, well expect for when they'd gone on surveillance together which coincidently enough, had been on Syd's birthday. Jack and Sky had never really gotten along. Sky was slowly, very slowly, warming up to Jack as his leader even though it had originally pained him to do so. Jack was strong, caring, emotional and for some reason, to Sky it seemed like Jack wore his heart on his sleeve, baring everything about himself to the world. Jack stopped for a moment and Sky's eyes quickly averted themselves away from the red ranger. Jack's gaze landed on Sky, who was crouched down next to Syd, talking to her quietly. Jack smiled slightly at the chemistry between the two. Syd was the ever flirtatious, spunky, princess of SPD. Gentle, caring, loving and honest to boot. When Jack had first joined SPD, he felt a slight attraction to the vision in pink, but it all vanished when he realized that Sky and Syd harbored deep feelings for each other. Jack had come to see Sydney as his little sister, and partner in crime fighting. One of the gifts she held, without knowing it, was that she could look like a damsel in distress, but could turn right around, and kick some serious ass. And Jack knew, if he ever referred to her as a damsel in distress to her face, his ass would be the one she kicked. After a while, they saw the area illuminate as Sam returned.

"Any luck finding them?" Jack asked.

"Nothing." Sam said. Syd groaned.

"What exactly are we supposed to do then?" She questioned. The three rangers looked at her. They knew this wasn't good. They needed to find Bridge and Z before anything else went wrong.

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The two rangers in question wandered around the caver in search of the rest of their group. After hours of searching, Bridge crashed against the rock wall by his back, and slid down until he was sitting. Z stopped and plopped down next to him. They remained silent for a few moments before Bridge turned his head and looked at Z.

"Can I ask you a question Z?" He prodded the yellow ranger. She turned her head towards him.

"You just did." She replied grinning. Even in the dark, she could tell that Bridge was rolling his eyes.

"Seriously." He replied. Z chuckled. "Go ahead." Came the reply. Bridge took a deep breath.

"I was wondering if you'd like to g-"

"Aww, how sweet, the yellow and green rangers, all alone." Came the harsh female voice. The two rangers in question jumped to their feet and got into fighting positions. From the darkness appeared Morganna.

"What do you want?" Z asked. Morganna gave a slow smile as her arm stretched out and she pointed one finger to Bridge.

"Him." She simply said. Bridge and Z both stared at her incredulously.

"What?" They both asked at the same time. Morganna smirked as she cocked an eyebrow.

"You heard me." She said. Suddenly, a group of Krybots appeared behind them. Before Z and Bridge could engage in battle, one of them shoved Z down, making her hit her head on a rock.

"Z!" Bridge exclaimed. He went to go to her but the Krybots gabbed his arms. Z blinked as she tried to sit up, feeling groggy and disoriented.

"Bridge…" She said softly.

"Bye bye, yellow ranger." Morganna said. Z turned to her and saw her disappear she then turned back and saw Bridge struggling against the Krybots.

"Bridge!" Z exclaimed. She fought to get back to her feet.

"Z-" Bridge was cut off as the Krybots disappeared with him.

"No! Bridge!" Z cried out. The ground shook and trembled. A rock from the wall fell and hit Z in the middle of her back. Z fell to the ground as everything turned black.

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Jack braced himself against the wall as the rumbling began again. Rocks from the wall began to fall around them. Sky quickly covered Syd, shielding her from the rocks. After a while, the shaking stopped. Sky sat up straight and looked at Syd.

"Are you all right?" He asked. Syd nodded.

"Yeah, you?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He said. He looked at Jack. "You okay?" He asked. Jack nodded as he stood up straight.

"I'm good too." Sam piped up.

"What do you think that was all about?" Syd asked.

"Well, the last time the ground shook, this like huge wall came up and separated us from Bridge and Z." Jack informed. Sky stood up and kneeled in front of Syd with his back to her, telling her to climb on his back.

"We should probably all try looking for them, maybe the shaking cleared up some of this maze or something." Sky suggested to Jack as Syd slowly climbed onto his back. Sky stood up and shifted Syd a bit as she held onto his shoulders.

"Good idea, Sky." Jack said. Sam floated ahead of them to light the way. Jack followed him and Sky brought up the read with Syd. They all walked—or floated, in Sam's case—through the corridors.

"That's weird." Sam said.

"What?" Jack asked.

"These corridors, they weren't like this when I checked before." He said.

"Maybe the rumbling cleared away some of the rocks." Syd suggested.

"Maybe." Sam said. They all continued on their way when something made them all stop.

"Oh my god, Z!" Jack exclaimed at the sight of his pseudo-sister lying on her stomach on the ground. He ran ahead and kneeled at her side. Sky quickly followed. He set Syd down on a large rock nearby. Jack slowly turned Z over in his arms so her head was on his lap. "Z?" He asked, softly.

"Is she okay?" Syd asked worriedly. Jack's pulse quickened in fear as he tried to rouse Z.

"Z?" He asked. Sam floated over, hovering over Jack and Z. He was worried about her as well, seeing as she was the first person to ever genuinely care about him when he was a little boy.

"Come on, Z, wake up." Jack pleaded. Z moaned gently as she opened her eyes. Jack let out a relieved rush of breath.

"Jack?" She questioned. Syd sighed as she heard Z speak. Sky gave her a reassuring squeeze on her knee.

"Yeah, I'm here." Jack said softly. Z's gaze shifted to the side a bit as if she was suddenly recalling something. She sat up quickly with a gasp.

"Oh god, Bridge." She said. Sky looked at her.

"Bridge? What about Bridge?" He asked, worried about his friend and roommate. Z dawned a pained expression as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Jack was taken aback by this. Z was not one to cry easily.

"Z, what happened?" He asked, touching her back gently.

"They…….They took him…." She whimpered.

"They?" Syd asked.

"……Krybots…….They took Bridge!" Z screamed as she collapsed in Jack's arms in a fit of sobs. Syd gasped slightly as the revelation and looked at Sky. Sky's mouth was agape at the words telling him that his best friend was missing. He slowly turned and looked at Syd sitting next to him. Looking into Syd's eyes, he noticed the unshed tears and without speaking, he enveloped the short girl into his arms.

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After Z had fallen into Jack's arms in tears, she had passed. Jack carried her in his arms as they walked through the course. After a while, they were able to find their way out. As soon as they were out, Jack, Sky, Syd and Z were taken to the infirmary. The med unit had set Syd's leg and wrapped it in a soft cast. They then checked on Sky's wound and were pleased to see that Syd had done a great job of bandaging it. By this time, Z was awake but was lying on one of the infirmary beds. Sky had helped Syd over to the bed and Syd sat next to her. Z had gone into a bit of a catatonic state and Syd was just holding her friend's hand. Kat and Cruger walked into the infirmary, casting a look at the four of them.

"I'm glad to see all of you made it out all right." He said. Syd looked down at Z. _Not all of us. _She thought. Jack looked at Kat.

"Have you had any luck in finding Bridge?" He asked. Kat sighed and sadly shook her head.

"No, we haven't." She said.

"For now, I suggest all of you get some rest." Cruger said. "We'll let you know as soon as anything new develops." And with that, he turned and left. Kat watched him leave and quickly left to catch up with him. Syd sat next to her Z, still clutching her hand. After a few moments Z pulled her hand free of Syd's grasp and looked at her friend.

"Syd, no offence, but I'd like to be alone right now." Z told her friend. Syd nodded sadly and moved from the bed. Grabbing her crutches she slowly hobbled from the room and headed down towards the rec room. Z looked at Jack and Sky.

"Oh, yeah, we're gonna…." Sky began.

"Yeah.." Jack said as he and Sky left. Sky and Jack joined Syd a few moments later in the common room. Syd sat alone on the middle couch, her leg propped up on one side, and room for someone to sit on the other side. Jack was off at the side, staring out the window. Sky went over to her and sat beside her.

"Hey." He said softly. Syd looked at him.

"Hey." She replied.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. Syd gave him an incredulous look.

"Well, aside from my ankle hurting, worrying about one friend who's been kidnapped and worrying about the other friend who aside from basically telling us to screw off has been in a catatonic state I'm just dandy." She said. Sky pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. Syd sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped." She said.

"It's okay. We're all a little high strung." He said. Syd nodded.

"I know...It's just..." She trailed off and sighed. Sky rubbed her shoulder slightly.

"You need some sleep, come on. I'll walk you to your room." He said helping her to her feet. Jack turned and watched them leave.

"If they were any more obvious, it'd be scary." He muttered under his breath.

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Morganna watched the large cylinder with delight. It wasn't the cylinder itself that pleased her so, more like what would be in there.

"Let go of me!" Bellowed a voice. Morganna gave a joyful squeal as she spun around to see several Krybots dragging in a struggling green ranger. As soon as they entered the room, the Krybots stopped. Morganna fixed Bridge with a predatory stare.

"Hello, green ranger." She all but purred. Bridge glared at her.

"What do you want?" He demanded. Morganna walked over to him, her hips swishing a bit. She stood right in front of him, leaning into his chest.

"What?" She asked, giving him a mock pout. "Sad that your little yellow ranger isn't here?" She asked. Bridge's glare intensified.

"What did you do to Z?" He growled. Morganna stepped back, giving him an innocent look.

"Me? Why nothing." She asked. She sauntered about the room. "Her guilt's doing more damage that I ever could do." She grinned. Bridge struggled harder against the Krybots at the thought of Z in any type of pain, even if it was just emotional.

"I'll kill you!" He swore. Morganna spun around to face him and frowned.

"My, you are not at all what I had hoped." She said. "What happened to the amusing nature you seem to have with your friends?"

"Well, a. they're my friends, you're far from that. And b. I tend to lose my 'amusing nature' when I'm being held AGAINST MY WILL!" He bellowed. Morganna pouted.

"You're no fun like this." She said. She looked at the Krybots. "Put him in the capsule." She ordered. The Krybots followed her orders as quickly as they could with the struggling ranger. One of the Krybots let go to open the cylinder as the others forced him in. After they got him in, they shut and locked the door. "Very good, now leave." She ordered. The Krybots left. Morganna walked over to the cylinder. Bridge was banging on the glass with his fists, screaming obscenities at her. "Don't worry, dear." She said. "Soon, you'll feel all better." She smiled as she walked over to a console that was located by the cylinder. "And you'll forget all about that pathetic yellow ranger." She spat out as she pressed some buttons.

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_Z walked along New Tech City Park. It had been a day since Bridge was taken and there wasn't any news on his whereabouts. Z sighed as she sat on a bench. _

"_Where are you, Bridge?" She whispered. The words seemed to linger on her breath as she closed her eyes and put her head back. _

"_Z! Z, help me, please!" Shouted a voice. Z sat up quickly and opened her eyes. "Help me!" The voice said again._

"_Bridge?" She asked softly. She got up. Somehow, the park was suddenly a dark wooded area. It reminded Z of the woods she ran through when she ran away from school all those years ago. "Bridge! Where are you?"_

"_Help me!" The voice screamed again. Z tried to listen to where the voice was coming from, but it seemed to come at her from all directions._

"_Bridge!" She took off in some arbitrary direction, hoping she was going the right way. She kept running. "Bridge, where are you!" She pleaded._

"_Help me!" The voice seemed to sound more desperate, more pleading each time she heard it. Z kept running. She tripped over an up risen root, falling forward, she braced herself against a tree to keep from falling. She panted softly. _

"_Bridge!" She cried out. "Where are you?"_

"_I'm right here." She heard from behind her. Z spun around and saw Bridge standing there, his expression the same as always-neutral and a little goofy. Z gave a relieved smile. _

"_Bridge." She said softly. She ran and threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him close. Bridge hugged her back. After a while, she felt Bridge shift a bit as his lips were now right by her ear._

"_It's your entire fault." He whispered. Z, taken aback, stepped out of his embrace. _

"_What?" She asked. _

"_It's your entire fault." He repeated. His face contorted into a mean, hateful sneer. He seemed to tower over her and Z saw the sky turn a dark menacing color. Z stumbled back a bit, only to have Bridge come closer to her. "It's your entire fault." He said. Z shook her head frantically. _

"_No……..No…….." She said. _Z sat up with a gasp. She blinked as she looked around. She wasn't in the park or woods, she was in her room, in her bed. She blinked as her eyes adjusted in the darkness and she could see Syd's form lying across the room on her own bed. Z sighed as she laid back in bed.

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"So, how's Z?" Jack asked. It was the next morning and he, Syd and Sky were all sitting in the rec room. Syd sighed.

"I don't know." Syd replied honestly. She looked at Sky for a moment. "She wasn't there when you walked me to my room. I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up this morning she was in her bed, just lying there, not really saying anything." She said. Syd looked down. Sky reached over and took her hand in his, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"We'll find him." He said. He knew she was trying her best to be positive, but he could tell this was tearing her up inside. The two of them and Bridge had become really close in their early years as cadets. They felt like they could bond solely with each other after realizing that each of them had powers while the other cadets didn't. It was like they were a family of their own and Bridge and Syd had their own special bond aside from him because of the fact that Sky was more of a by the book type of a person while they were more carefree. Sometimes their closeness did make him a little jealous, but the jealousy would die down whenever they would try to involve him in their carefree times. He knew it was his choice to be a stick in the mud, but he felt he had to be like that so as to be a strong ranger some day like his father had been. Syd sighed softly.

"I hope your right..." She replied softly. Sky gave her another reassuring squeeze in her hand.

"I'm always right." he whispered. Jack watched as the two interacted together and gave a slight eyebrow raise before smirking softly. They were so obvious, yet so oblivious at the same time. It was cute, yet disgusting.

"I mean, it's got to be so hard for Z. Having to watch the guy you're head over heels over being kidnapped." Syd sighed. Sky looked at her.

"Z likes Bridge?" He asked a little surprised. Syd sighed.

"I so did not mean to let that out." She said.

"I thought you said she didn't like him." Jack said. Syd rolled her eyes.

"Jack, I was being secretive and evasive." She said. Sky let out a chuckle. Syd and Jack both looked at him.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Bridge likes Z." He said. There was a pause of silence for a second before all three of them let out a collective chuckle.

"He does?" Came a voice from the entrance. Everyone looked over to see Z standing there. Her hair was frazzled, her face pale and blotchy as if she had been crying for hours. She was dressed in her SPD t-shirt and black cotton lounge pants. Jack got up quickly.

"Z." He said. He went over to her. He gently took her arm and led her to the couch, having her sit next to Syd. Syd reached over and put her arm around her friends shoulder, pulling her close, making Z rest her head on Syd's shoulder. Jack sat down on the other side of Z and put his arm behind her back, rubbing it gently.

"We'll find him, sweetie." Syd promised. Z absentmindedly wiped at some tears that remained on her cheeks. The four of them were silent for a while.

"I think," Z began, clearing her throat a bit. "I think he was going to ask me out." She said softly. Sky, Syd and Jack looked at her. "He was starting to ask me something before Morganna showed up. He said 'I was wondering if you'd like to g-'………..So, either he was asking me out, or asking me if I'd like to get him something." Z said. "I wasn't sure what it meant before, but after what Sky said…….Maybe…" Her voice trailed off.

"He was, I just know he was." Syd said. She turned her head and placed a sisterly kiss on the crown of Z's head. "And when we find him, you two will go on that date." She promised.


	7. Under A Cloud Of Darkness

It had been a few days since Morganna captured the green ranger. She sat in her room and gleefully gazed upon the cylinder which held the unconscious man. He was connected to tubes and wires as he was practically floating in a liquid substance that was almost like a gel. Morganna reminded herself to thank Broodwing for getting her all theses things and selling them to her at such a low price. Although, she knew that he knew that if he hadn't helped her, she would've made up some thing to tell Grumm which would've resulted in the unscrupulous winged creature being blasted into thousands of pieces.

"Soon, green ranger," Morganna said, walking over and touching the cylinder. "Soon you can come out and play." She smiled. She turned and walked over to a console that sat in the corner of her room. On the console was a monitor that she used to watch Earth. She mostly used it now to see how those pathetic rangers were dealing after what she had done. She would get an extra shiver of joy at the sight of the yellow ranger's pale face and puffy eyes. It had even made her laugh out loud when because of an outburst she had with one of Grumm's monsters; the yellow ranger was put on "vacation" from ranger duties by their commander. She touched the screen lightly, activating it. "Two rangers down," she muttered as the screen buzzed to life, "five to go."

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Syd sat on her bed, tying her white sneakers that had pink stripes on the side. She looked across the room and saw that Z was still lying in bed.

"Come on, Z, you'll be late for training." Syd said. Z looked at her through her covers.

"I'm not going." She replied as if it was the simplest reply to give. Syd narrowed her eyes incredulously.

"Not going?" She asked, laughing a little at the sheer ludacricy of that statement. "What do you mean you're not going?" Z threw the covers off and sat up, swinging her legs over so they hung off the edge.

"Well, I'm staying here, not attending training, that's what I mean." Z replied. Syd still looked at her like she had lost her mind. Z shrugged. "What's the point? I'm on suspension, aren't I?" She asked.

"You're not on suspension." Syd sighed. "Cruger just thought it'd be best if you sat out of the ranger stuff for a few days. And, come on, can you blame him? You nearly beat that monster to death yesterday."

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know we were supposed to play paddy-cake with them." Z muttered sarcastically. Syd sighed.

"Fine Z, do what you want." Syd said, throwing her hands up in the air and leaving the room. She walked down the corridors to the training area while she twisted her blonde curls into a bun. Once she got into the training room, she walked over to Jack and Sky.

"Where's Z?" Jack asked.

"Miss Chip on Her Shoulder isn't coming to training." Syd said.

"What? What do you mean she isn't coming?" Sky asked, shocked. You don't just not come to training….that was just unheard of. Syd put a hand up signifying she had already been down that root. Jack sighed as he remembered the events of the previous day.

"_All right guys, let's bring this guy in." Jack said. They had just fought one of Grumm's monsters and had managed to defeat him, so now it was time to put him in one of the containment cards. Jack reached for his morpher when he heard Syd yell._

"_Z!" Syd exclaimed. Jack's head snapped up to see Z straddling the already weakened monster and punching it in the face. _

"_Where is he?" She screamed. "Where's Bridge?" Her voice got louder and louder with every punch she gave the beast. Jack, Syd, Sky and Sam all ran to Z._

"_Z, come on." Jack said, trying to pull her off. Z gave an animal like scream and shoved him off, continuing her assault on the monster. _

"_Z, stop." Syd pleaded, trying to grasp Z's arm._

"_Not until he gives me some answers." Z snarled. _

"_I don't know anything!" The monster exclaimed. Sky and Sam were finally able to grab each of Z's arms and pull her off. The monster scrambled backwards on his hands. "Keep her away from me…….Put me in jail, anything…." He babbled fearfully. Z fought tooth and nail against Sam and Sky but they held her tightly._

After they had taken the monster into containment—something the monster was more than willing to go along with—Cruger had called them all into the command center where he ordered Z to hand over her morpher. Z had nearly thrown the item at his feet before storming out of the room. Cruger told the rest of them that Z needed to rest for a while before she would be allowed back on the battlefield. They all understood and deep down agreed with him. Jack sighed as he shook his head, dislodging the memory from his head. Cruger had told all the cadets that they would be doing sparring again and the other cadets went off and formed pairs to spar. Cruger then approached Jack, Syd and Sky.

"Cadet Drew," he began. "I think it would be best if you sat this out." He suggested. Syd frowned. "We don't know how effective that device Boom made is quite yet." He explained. A couple of days ago Boom had barged into the rec room like an excited puppy saying he had just constructed a device that could mend Syd's broken ankle. Of course, everyone was a little skeptical, but they decided to humor him. Jack and Sky helped Syd hobble over to the laboratory where Boom picked up a large device that looked like some type of laser gun, which only seemed to unease everyone even more, but he assured it's safety and turned it on, pointing it to Syd's ankle. The device emitted a red beam that hit Syd right where the bone in her ankle had broken. The laser was unusually cool on her skin and after a while he shut off the device. He told Syd to stand up which only got him a skeptical look from her seeing as she didn't feel any differently than before but she figured it would hurt to try. Sky and Jack stood on either side of her, ready to catch her if she tumbled. Syd slowly stood up and was amazed to see that Boom's device had worked.

"But sir, I was able to engage in battle yesterday." She pointed out. Cruger sighed.

"Yes, but with Cadet Carson missing and Cadet Delgado…." Cruger let his voice trail off. "I don't want to chance any more of you being unable to fight. So, until we have the med crew fully examine your foot, I don't want you doing anything that could possibly make it worse, understood?" He asked. Syd sighed inwardly but nodded.

"Yes sir." She said.

"Very well." He said and with that he walked off. Jack and Sky both gave her sympathetic looks. Syd smiled.

"Hey, no big." She shrugged. "This will give me time to catch up on my reading. I haven't been able to sit down and read my latest issue of Vogue as of yet." She said. "See you later guys." She said as she walked off. Syd made her way into the common room and plopped herself down with the latest issue of Vouge open in her lap. She casually flipped the pages, looking at the fashion ideas. She continued to look at the pages boredly until an article that caught her eye.

"Superstar Sydney Drew making a comeback?" She read. Syd flipped the page and began reading the article about herself. There were pictures of her leaving the studio, and mentions of her new CD. She began to read the article and noticed a very big picture of her and Jack. She did a double take as she realized it was a picture taken at her birthday party when she had handed the cupcake to him. In this photo however, the cupcake was edited out, and it looked like she was holding hands with him. She then saw a picture of the two of them leaving the studio the other day and getting in the S.P.D. jeep. "Oh no." She whimpered. Her eyes shifted down to the caption beneath the picture. _Sydney Drew with her mystery man again, who we've learned to be fellow S.P.D ranger, Jack Landors. _She turned the page and there were pictures of her and Jack fighting side by side. Most of the pictures had been of them and the others, but they had obviously been edited out. Syd groaned. "This is so not good." She said. Syd grabbed another magazine off the table beside her and looked at it. There again was a picture of her and Jack on the cover. She flipped to the area in the magazine and began to read about how the press was speculating that she and Jack were a 'thing'. Groaning Syd snatched the remainder of the magazines and chucked them into the garbage. She leaned against the wall and sighed. She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her head snapped to the side and she saw Z standing there. "Oh, Z, it's you." She breathed out. Syd walked over and sat at the couch.

"Yeah, didn't mean to scare you." Z said softly. She looked down and saw the magazines in the garbage. "Bad press?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Don't ask." Syd snapped. She sighed. "Sorry." She said. Z went and sat beside her.

"Thought that was going to be my line." She said. She sighed. "I went by the training room, Sky and Jack told me I could find you here…..Not before wagging their fingers at me for skipping training, mind you……..I just…I wanted to say I'm sorry….For not exactly being the most pleasant person to be around these past few days." She leaned her head back on the couch. "I'm just worried." She whispered. Syd looked at her. She reached over and took Z's hand, squeezing it gently.

"It's okay." Syd said. "I understand. I mean, I guess if Sky was missing, I'd be an unholy bitch monster too." Z cast her a mock offended look.

"Hey, I said I was being unpleasant, I didn't say that." Z said. Syd laughed and shrugged.

"You have your version, I have mine." She said. Z raised an eyebrow at her roommate.

"I guess your right. So what is the press saying about you?" She prodded. Syd groaned.

"That Jack and I are a couple." She replied. Z's mouth fell open at the comment.

"No freaking way!" She burst out before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Syd just rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for the emotional support Z." Syd muttered.

"I'm sorry, but it's so funny." Z said as she sobered up from her laughter.

"They totally edited stuff to make it look totally different." Syd pouted.

"Like what?" Z asked. Syd sighed.

"Remember at my birthday party, Jack and I split that cupcake?" She asked. Z nodded. "Well, someone got a picture of it and they edited out the cupcake, so it totally looks like we're holding hands." Z frowned.

"I don't remember seeing anyone there with a camera." Z said. Syd looked at her.

"Funny thing about paparazzi, they know how to hide in plain sight." She said. Z sighed and put an arm around Syd.

"Maybe you should talk to your manager." She said. "I mean, maybe she can at least think of some damage control or something." Syd nodded slightly.

"Your right. Stacey should be able to do something about this..." She trailed off before standing up.

"I'm gonna go see her now." Syd commented before heading out of the room. Z got up.

"Wait up, I'll come with you." She said, following the pink ranger.

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Morganna sat at her monitor, observing earth, when something made her lip curl in anger. There, walking around New Tech city dressed in normal clothes that consisted of jeans and a purple t-shirt, her long dark hair done in two braids, was Dorianna. Her hands curled up into fists in anger. Just then, a beeping noise came from the cylinder. Morganna's eyes went wide with delight at the sound as she got up from her seat and went over to the console and started pressing buttons.

"Just in time." She said to herself.

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Syd pulled the jeep up right outside of Stacy's office building. She and Z climbed out of the car and made their way inside. In the lobby, there sat a middle aged woman answering phones. She looked up.

"Sydney, how are you?" She smiled. Sydney smiled. The woman stood up and gave her a hug.

"Hi, Mrs. Saunders." She said, returning the hug. She turned to Z. "Oh, sorry, Z, this is Mrs. Saunders. She's the receptionist here. I've known her since forever. Mrs. Saunders, this is my friend, Z." She said, introducing them. Z gave Mrs. Saunders a smile and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you." She said. Mrs. Saunders smiled.

"So, is Stacy in?" Syd asked. Mrs. Saunders nodded.

"Yes she is, I'll let her know you're here, why don't you have a seat?" She suggested. Syd nodded and she and Z went to the couch that was in the lobby. Mrs. Saunders called Stacy's office and told her Syd and a friend were in the lobby. Mrs. Saunders hung up after a little bit and looked at the girls. "She'll be down here shortly." She said. A few minutes later, Stacy came out of the elevator and walked over to the girls.

"Syd, were we supposed to have a meeting today?" She asked, a little puzzled by her appearance.

"No, but I needed to talk to you." Syd said. Stacy nodded.

"All right, well, come on, let's go to my office." She said, leading the girls to the elevator. After they arrived at Stacy's office, Z and Syd sat at some chairs that were on the other side of Stacy's desk as Stacy stood at the door, closing it. "You girls want some thing to drink or eat? I'm sure I can get one of our interns to get you whatever you want."

"No, thank you." Z said.

"Yeah, we're fine." Syd said. Stacy nodded and sat behind her desk.

"So, what can I do for you, honey?" Stacy asked Syd. Syd sighed.

"Well, I saw some pictures of me in some magazines today and-"

"Oh, yes, sorry I didn't tell you about them before, but it seems like every time I try to call you, you're off saving the world or something." Stacy said. Syd blanched for a moment.

"Wait……What?" Syd asked. Z was pretty caught off guard as well. "You knew about them?"

"Of course, honey. I mean, someone had to pay the photographer." Stacy replied. Syd blinked. Stacy frowned. "What's wrong? Did that hack not get your good side? I swear, I'll sue-"

"This isn't about the _quality _about the pictures." Syd nearly shouted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, then what's wrong?" Stacy asked. Syd's jaw fell open as she tried to form words. Z sat up a bit.

"Uh, well, I think what Syd's trying to say is that, well, those pictures aren't exactly truthful, right Syd?" Z asked. Syd nodded. Stacy stared at them both.

"You don't mean, you two…."

"What! No!" Syd exclaimed. Stacy let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, cause well, an 'alternative' pop star just isn't going to go well with the public, you know?" Stacy said, using air quotes.

"You're photographer made it seem like Jack and I are together." Syd blurted out, unable to contain it anymore. "I told you we're just friends." Syd said. Stacey blinked and looked at the younger female.

"Sydney, sweetie, you've been unattached for so long, that we needed to pair you up with someone so that the press could once more be interested in you and your new beau. You and this Jake or whatever his name is worked perfectly together!" She finished, smiling at them both. Syd drew in a deep breath.

"No." She replied. Z turned and looked at her friend. She wasn't accustomed to hearing her friend say that word. It was so foreign. Apparently Stacey wasn't used to hearing it either.

"Pardon me?" She questioned. Syd crossed her arms and looked at her manager.

"I said no." Syd repeated. Stacy put on a tight smile.

"Honey, I've been your manager for how long?" She asked. She continued without waiting for a response. "Five years. After all this time, don't you think I know what's best for you? I mean, when you suddenly decided to join the SPD nonsense, I let you do it because I figured maybe you just wanted to do something different for a while."

"_Let me_? Since when do the decisions _I _make concern you?" Syd spat out. Stacy shook her head, as if ignoring Syd's statement.

"Well, you've been off being a pink ranger and you've just totally fallen off of the radar. I mean, no one really gives two hoots about Sydney Drew anymore. I figured it would be a good idea to generate some buzz before the new album came out, you know? Make sure you get some good release numbers." Z narrowed her eyes.

"And her being a ranger isn't enough buzz for you people?" Z asked. Stacy looked at her.

"Sweetheart, this doesn't really concern you, how about you just go wait outside." She said. Z glared at the woman and made a move to get up to cause some severe bodily damage. Syd grabbed Z's arm.

"Z, don't." Syd said. Stacy gave Z a smug look. Syd looked at her. "And you, how dare you spread all those lies? I thought I could trust you."

"You can trust me." Stacy said with an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, trust you to be a total money obsessed bitch." Z muttered.

"Excuse me?" Stacy said. Syd sighed and stood up.

"Come on, Z, let's go." She said. She and Z made their way to the door. Syd stopped and turned to Stacy. She gave the woman a sweet smile. "By the way, in case you haven't picked up on it quite yet, you are so incredibly…..fired." Syd said. Z smirked as she and Syd left. Stacy sat in her office fuming. NOBODY fired her. Snatching her phone off its hook, she pounded the numbers of a local photographer into the keypad and let it ring. After three rings, the phone picked up.

"Jackson." Came the rough male voice on the other end. Stacy smiled.

"Jackson, its Stacy... I have a job for you." She purred before telling him the details of the job.

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Syd literally flew down the steps, followed closely by Z.

"What the hell was that?" Z questioned as they walked out of the building. Syd shrugged her shoulders.

"I fired her. She has NO right to be printing false lies in popular magazines when she doesn't even have my permission." She snapped. Her entire body was shaking in anger. Z sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay." She said softly.

"I thought Stacy actually cared about me; I thought I could trust her." She said. Z sighed.

"I can only imagine how much that hurts." She said. Syd sighed and walked to the jeep.

"Come on, we should probably get back to base." Syd said. Z smiled and snatched the keys from her. Syd looked at her.

"I have a better idea." She said. "How about we go to New Tech mall, get some ice cream, and maybe do a little retail therapy." Syd's eyes lit up.

"Oh, Z, you are a saint." Syd said, hugging her friend. Z laughed and hugged her back. The two of them got in the car, this time Z in the drivers' seat as they drove off to the mall. Once they got there, they made a beeline to the food court and got ice cream. Syd got herself two scoops of strawberry ice cream in a cup while Z got herself two scoops of lemon ice cream in a cup. Both of them sat down at a table and enjoyed their frozen treats.

"So, what are you going to do about the CD now?" Z asked as she ate her ice cream.

"Not sure. I'll call my parents later on today; see what they think I should do." Syd replied. The two continued to chit chat before they finished their ice creams, threw out their cups and spoons, and made their way to some stores. Someone slowly crept behind the two girls, and followed them through each store that they went into and snapped pictures of them very discreetly. He finished his roll of film and quickly exited the store they were in and headed to his car. Stacey would pay him a lot of money once these were photoshoped and edited to perfection. Back in the store, Syd and Z were browsing through clothes. Z was busy looking at a pair of jeans with yellow daisies embroidered along the sides of the legs while Syd was looking at skirts. Syd pulled a skirt from the rack and her eyes lit up with glee. "Z, come here!" She said. Z set the jeans down and went over to where Syd stood. There, Syd held a short layered yellow skirt that had a green string like design running through it.

"It's nice. Yellow's not really your color though." Z said. Syd rolled her eyes and shoved the skirt in her friend's hands.

"It's for you." She said. She smiled. "It's the perfect skirt for you to wear when Bridge asks you out on that date." She said. Z looked down.

"Syd, Bridge-"

"Z, we will find him. And I'm sure that the second he gets back to base, the very first thing he's going to do is ask you out on that date." Syd said. Z sighed. "Will you just try it on?" She asked.

"Fine." Z said. Syd smiled as her friend entered the change room. They were going to find Bridge... Soon, she hopped.

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Back at the base, Jack and Sky sat in the rec room after training.

"I wonder where Syd is." Jack said. Sky shrugged. He got up and went to the bookcase to get a book and passed the trashcan. Something in it caught his eye. His eyes got wide and he got down on his knees and reached into the bin. Jack stared at his teammate with a puzzled expression on his face. "Digging for treasure over there, Sky?" Jack asked. Sky grabbed the pile of magazines that had been carelessly dumped in there by Syd and yanked them out of the bin. On the first cover he saw pictures of Jack and Syd. He flipped to the next magazine and saw the same thing. He flipped through a few more magazines, and came up with the same thing. Pictures of Jack and Syd.

Together. Holding Hands. Doing coupley things together. It made him sick. They hadn't told him... It nearly broke Sky's heart just to look at the photos. Suddenly, the feeling of hurt and betrayal were clouded with anger and hatred. Spinning around angrily he stormed towards Jack, with rays of death shooting out of his eyes.

"Uh oh." Jack muttered. Sky dumped the magazines on Jack.

"You could have at least had the decency to tell me. Not just sneak around like little kids." Sky spat out.

"Tell you what?" Jack asked, shielding himself from the rain of magazines.

"I know we're not that good of friends but I thought you would've at least respected me enough to tell me the truth."

"Sky, what are you talking about?" Jack asked. He finally got ahold of one of the magazines and looked at it. There, he saw a picture of him and Syd. It was of them talking in the SPD jeep, but because of the angle of how the picture was taken, it almost looked like they were kissing. Jack's eyes grew wide. "Sky, I-" He looked up just in time to see Sky storm out of the room.

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After a bit of convincing from Syd, Z agreed to buy the skirt, along with some jeans and shirts she picked out herself. Syd got herself a few jeans, some shirts, skirts and dresses. The girls realized that with all the bags they had, it was probably enough retail therapy for one day.

"We should probably head back." Z said.

"Yeah." Syd said. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but that's enough shopping for one day." She said. Z chuckled. The two of them loaded the bags into the back of the jeep before climbing in and heading back to base.

"So, feeling better?" Z asked. Syd smiled.

"Yeah. It's true, money can't buy happiness, but it does buy great looking outfits, which will lead to happiness." Syd joked. Z laughed. Just as Z was about to take a turn, a loud blast was heard from the park. Z slammed on the breaks. "What was that?" Syd asked.

"I don't know, but we should check it out." Z said, seeing the many people suddenly running away from the park. "Because that definitely isn't a good sign." She put the car in reverse and turned, heading to the park. In the park, Dorianna laid on her back after barely dodging a blast from Morganna. She looked up to see her sister dressed in her battle garb, standing a few feet away with some monsters behind her.

"Hey, sis." Dorianna said, getting up.

"Thought you could hide from me, did you?" Morganna sneered. Dorianna simply smirked.

"I can't believe it took you this long to find me. You're getting rusty in your old age, huh?" Dorianna teased. Morganna growled and sent another blast at her. Unfortunately, this one, Dorianna didn't dodge. The blast hit her in the chest and she fell back on her back, groaning in pain. Z and Syd pulled the jeep up to the entrance of the park and got out.

"Z, I'll go check it out, you call the others." Syd said.

"I'm not about to let you go in there alone." Z said. Syd looked at her.

"Z, you don't have your morpher. If things are really hectic in there, I need the others for back up." She said. Z sighed.

"All right, go." She said. Syd nodded and ran in the park. Z pulled out the radio from the jeep and contacted base. "Kat, there's something going on in the park." She said.

"I know, Jack, Sky and Sam are on their way." Kat said over the radio. Back in the park, Syd found Morganna and the monsters.

"What are you doing here?" Syd demanded. Morganna glared at the blonde.

"Stay out of this, Pinkie. It doesn't concern you." Morganna said.

"I'm sorry, but ugly looking freaks terrorizing innocent civilians is my business." She said. Dorianna looked at her from where she lay on the ground. _Innocent civilian? What?_ She thought to herself, then realized that her manner of dress did scream civilian.

"Ugly!" Morganna shrieked. "How dare you!" She looked at the monsters behind her. "Get her!" Syd quickly pulled out her morpher.

"S.P.D, EMERGENCY!" She shouted as she morphed. From outside the park, Z heard the commotion. She looked around and saw no sign of the guys. She frowned.

"Morpher or not, I'm not staying out here." She said to herself as she ran in the park. She followed the sounds of Syd fighting and found her taking on a handful of monsters. "Syd!" Z exclaimed as she saw a monster knock her down. Syd pulled herself away as Z went over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You should get out of here." Syd grunted.

"I'm not leaving you here alone." Z said. She helped Syd get to her feet. Just as Syd was standing and about to get back in the fight, Sky, Jack and Sam arrived on their bikes.

"Took you guys long enough." Syd said. The three of them hopped off their bikes and went over to the girls.

"You guys all right?" Jack asked. Syd and Z nodded. Jack looked at Z.

"Z, you better get that girl out of here, we'll take care of these guys." Jack said. Z nodded. She went over to where Dorianna lay and grabbed her shoulders.

"Come on, we've got to get you out of here." She said. Z saw that she was too weak to stand on her own. Z pulled her up and pulled one of her arms across her shoulders while she held her up around the waist with her other hand. She pulled her away from the mayhem and started to take her out of the park. Little did Z know that Morganna saw this.

"Hmm, two birds with one stone." She muttered to herself as she followed. Z pulled the girl away and ended up in a deserted part of the park. "This is just too easy." She heard Morganna say. Z turned around. At the sight of Morganna, Z's entire body became rigid with anger.

"You." Z said lowly. Morganna smirked.

"Me." She said.

"Where's Bridge?" Z demanded. Morganna simply laughed. This only made Z angrier. "Tell me where Bridge is." Z gritted through her teeth. Morganna simply smiled.

"You'll see him soon enough." She replied smoothly. Z's anger reached a boiling point. She didn't like what that sentence implied. Was Morganna planning on capturing them all one by one or something? Z set the girl down and glared at Morganna.

"I've been wanting to seriously beat your ass for a long time." Z snarled, getting in a fighting stance. Morganna giggled.

"Oh, I'm soooo scared." She said.

"You should be!" Z yelled as she charged at Morganna. She caught her by surprise and was able to tackle her to the ground, pinning her with her own weight. Z grabbed a handful of Morganna's hair in her hand and pulled as her fist slammed into her face. Morganna shrieked and tried to push Z off of her as the punches continued. Morganna finally figured to fight fire with fire and reached up, grabbing a hand full of Z's hair and pulling hard, making Z lose her balance on top of her and fall sideways on the ground. Both girls got up, glaring at each other.

"That all you got, Morganna?" Z sneered. Morganna narrowed her eyes at her as she touched her lip and saw that it was bleeding.

"You made me bleed." She said, staring at her fingers, as if she was astonished someone would dare do that to her. Z smirked.

"Boo-freakin-hoo." She said. "You gonna cry about it?" Morganna growled as she charged at Z. Z sidestepped out of her path and delivered a punch to her side, making Morganna stumble a bit, but Z didn't stop there. She spun around and kicked her in the back of the head, knocking her down. Morganna weakly got up to her hands and knees. "Get up." Z demanded. Morganna groaned as she tried to clear her head. "I said, get up!" Z yelled. She went to grab Morganna's arm when she felt some type of explosion on her back. The sharp pain made her groan and fall to her knees, her hand going across her chest, her hand pressed against her shoulder blade. She gasped through the pain, hearing footsteps coming closer to her. Z forced herself to try to get up and get away, figuring it was one of the monsters that had gotten away from the other rangers. She looked up and gasped at what………more like who…….she saw standing near Morganna, aiming some sort of blaster right at Z. "B…..Bridge?" Bridge stopped next, blaster still pointed at the demorphed yellow ranger.

"Who is this Bridge person?" He questioned. Tears began to well up in Z's eyes.

"Bridge...no..." She whispered. Morganna laughed evilly.

"There's no one by the name of Bridge that exists anymore." She replied. Bridge looked down at Morganna and helped her up.

"Are you all right?" He asked. Morganna smirked. She got close to Bridge and put her arm around his neck, placing her hand on the back of his neck.

"Yes, I'm fine, dearest." She said. She gave Z an evil smile before pulling Bridge in for a kiss, which Bridge instantly responded to.

"No." Z sobbed, shutting her eyes, praying this was just a dream. Once their kiss ended, Morganna looked up at him.

"Finish her off." She commanded.

"As you wish." He said. He turned back to Z, raising the blaster up. Z looked up at him with pleading eyes, hoping he'd break out of whatever hold Morganna had on him that second.

"Z!" She heard Syd yell. Z looked up to see Jack, Sky, Sam and Syd run over to them. Sam, Syd and Sky quickly got in front of Z, blocking her from Bridge. Sky aimed his blaster at Bridge.

"Put it down." He demanded. Bridge simply glared at him. "Don't make me do this, buddy." He said. The two of them stood there for a while before Bridge smirked and lowered the blaster.

"Let's go." He said to Morganna, his eyes still trained on the others. He stepped back and took her hand, their fingers lacing together.

"But-" Morganna said, looking over at Dorianna who was being tended to by the red ranger. She had wanted to destroy her once and for all.

"I said let's go." Bridge said again, his voice stern. Morganna sighed.

"Very well." She said. The two of them went to walk away. Morganna turned and looked at the rangers as they left. She waved her fingers at them.

"Toodles." She said as she and Bridge disappeared. As soon as they were gone, Syd turned and kneeled in front of Z, demorphing in the process. She took Z's hands in hers.

"Are you all right?" She asked. The only response she got was the sound of Z sniffling and whimpering out tiny sobs. Syd closed her eyes and pulled Z close, letting her rest her head on her shoulder as she hugged her.

"At least we know he's alive." Sky said softly, trying to find the bright side in the situation. Syd craned her neck and looked up at him. He had demorphed as well. His eyes were downcast.

"We should head back to base." Came Jack's voice. Sky and Syd looked over to see him out of ranger uniform and hefting the girl up in his arms. For some strange reason, Morganna had targeted this girl and he wasn't about to leave her alone so that Morganna could get her. Syd nodded as she released Z. She got up and took Z's arm to pull her up. Z let out a loud painfilled whimper. Syd let her go.

"Sorry!" Syd exclaimed, not meaning to hurt her. Z held the arm with her good arm. Sky went over to her other side and carefully took her good arm with one hand and placed the other against her back, easing her up to her feet.

"Let's go." He said to Syd and Sam. He kept his hands where they were, leading Z off, knowing she was too spaced out to know where she was going.

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After returning to the base with a new female in tow, Sky and Syd directed Z to one of the beds in the infirmary, and the mysterious female, still lying in Jack's arms, was placed in another. Two cadets who were studying under Kat, learning about medical science were occupied with taking care of Z and the mysterious female, leaving Jack, Syd and Sky to return to the command center to debrief Kat and Cruger. The walk to their destination was eerily silent. None of them said a word to each other. Slowly the three rangers entered the command center, and fell into formation. Jack and Sky on either end, with Syd standing between them. Cruger stood across from them, his face looking worn, almost like he was older than he truly was. Kat stood beside him solemnly.

"We found Bridge sir." Jack spoke. Cruger nodded.

"I'm glad to hear that, Cadet Landors. Is he in the infirmary?" Cruger asked, figuring the green ranger might be hurt or something. The three of them looked down.

"Not exactly, sir." Syd said softly. Both Kat and Cruger's ears perked up.

"What do you mean not exactly?" Kat questioned. Sky drew in a sharp breath.

"Morganna has him." He replied, his head dropping downwards. Kat's mouth fell agape while Cruger looked at them.

"He's alright though isn't he? You saw him." He asked. Jack shook his head.

"He's not the Bridge we know..." Jack responded. Syd looked at their mentors.

"He's evil." She whispered, tears filling her blue eyes.


	8. Strike Two

Later that evening, Syd sat alone in her room. Z was being held overnight in the imfirmery to make sure her arm healed properly. Syd's mind was still on Bridge and how Morganna turned him evil. Bridge had been her best friend ever since she began at the academy, and to see him turned against his friends, hurt... She felt incredibly bad for Z who had a massive crush on their friend in green. Sighing Syd glanced at her clock. Quiet hours had just begun and she was wide awake. She pushed herself off her bed and headed out of the room towards the common room. She pressed the button on the side panel outside the room to open the door. Syd heard the swish sound as the door opened. She walked in. The room was empty except for Jack standing there with his back turned to her.

"Jack?" She said softly. He turned his head a bit before fully turning towards her.

"Syd... hey." He gave a half smile. Syd's gaze fell to what was lying in his hands. It was the magazines that she'd thrown into the trash. Her face paled slightly.

"Where'd you get those?" She asked, her voice quivering slightly. Jack sighed and looked at her.

"Sky dumped them into my lap earlier..." he trailed off. Syd's eyes widened.

"Sky saw them?" She asked, although it sounded very close to a whimper. She groaned and sat down on one of the couches. Jack set the magazines down on one of the tables in the room and sat beside her. "That's it, it's official, this day sucks."

"No kidding." Jack sighed, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. Syd looked at him.

"How's Z?" She asked, not doubting for a second that he had been sitting at his "little sister's" side not too long ago.

"Dr. Felix said her arm should heal in a few days and other than that, she's perfectly all right...physically." Jack said.

"How is she?" Syd asked. Jack sighed.

"Unresponsive." He said. "She just...Stares right in front of her, doesn't say anything. I don't even think she blinked the whole time I was with her." Syd looked down and chewed on the inside of her cheek, willing herself not to cry.

"And what about the mystery girl?" Syd asked. Jack shrugged.

"No one knows who she is, no identification or anything. She took a pretty bad hit to the chest, so she'll be out for a while."

"Oh." Was all Syd could say. Jack looked at her.

"Hey, Syd?" He questioned. Her head lifted slightly at her name.

"Yeah?" She replied. Jack drew in a sharp breath.

"Maybe you should talk to Sky..." He trailed off. Syd blinked at looked at him.

"And say what?" Syd asked helplessly. Jack blinked.

"Tell him the truth." He offered. She let a humorless laugh escape her lips.

"You're nuts." She commented. Jack grinned for a moment.

"It's worth a try isn't it?" He countered. Syd shook her head and sighed.

"What does it matter? It's not like he'd ever feel the same way..." she trailed off. Jack cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm not too sure about that." He said. Syd's head snapped to the side to face him so fast she could've gotten whiplash.

"Come again?" She asked. Jack shrugged.

"Well, when he saw those magazines, he seemed a little pissed." Jack informed her.

"What do you mean, pissed?" Syd asked. Jack gave her an incredulous look.

"Pissed...angry...not too pleased..." He said.

"Like, pissed in what way?" She asked. Jack shrugged.

"Pissed, pissed. Hey, next time I talk to the guy, I'll keep a tape recorder handy." Came his reply. Syd rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. Jack chuckled slightly. "Syd, I'd be lying if I said he didn't feel anything towards you. I mean, after that whole incident of him falling on top of you at training? He was so devastated at the fact that he had hurt you! He wouldn't even talk to us about it." He told the shorter female. Syd looked at Jack.

"So how exactly do you suggest I go about doing this?" She questioned. Jack shrugged.

"No idea." He replied. Syd threw her hands up in the air.

"You're hopeless." She grumbled.

"I'm hopeless because I won't give you a script of what to say to the guy?" Jack asked with a chuckle.

"Yes." Syd replied with a grin. Jack laughed.

"I'm so sorry." Jack replied. Syd sighed and leaned back.

"I can't believe I'm thinking about this petty stuff." She said. "I mean, Bridge's in evil's clutches...not to mention evil and brainwashed and Z's like...gone. I can't be thinking about myself at a time like this." Jack sighed and put a hand on her knee.

"Don't beat yourself up. You're allowed to think about Sky. I mean, we'll get Bridge back and Z will be all right." Syd nodded.

"Yeah you're right." She replied. Jack grinned.

"I'm always right." he replied. Syd rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Maybe I'll talk to him now..." She trailed off. Just then, the door swished open as Sky walked in with something in his arms. "Sky." Syd exclaimed, surprised to see him at that moment. Sky looked at her.

"Hey." He said. "I was actually just looking for you." He said.

"You were?" Syd asked. Jack got up.

"I'll leave you two alone, I think I'm going to go check on Z." Jack said as he left the room. Sky watched the red ranger leave before turning back to Syd. It was then that Syd saw that Sky had a magazine in his arms.

"Oh...Sky, I...Listen, I just..." She stumbled over her words, unsure how to go about telling him about the pictures of her and Jack. "Those pictures...of me and Jack...they weren't real." She said. Sky stared at her as she spoke. "I mean...they were _real _in the sense that they existed...but it's not...what you think...I mean...not to say I know what you thought...you know...I'm not a mind reader or anything...But...I mean, one could think, from those pictures...a certain thing...which isn't...what's going on...You know?" She said. Sky furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Uh...Not exactly." He admitted. "Listen, I just thought you should see this. I was taking a walk and saw it at a newsstand." He went over and handed her the magazine. Syd gave him a quizzical look before looking at the magazine. Her eyes grew very wide at the small picture of her and Z hugging in the corner of the cover with the text: 'Sydney Drew's "special" friend. More on page 8.'

"...What the hell!" Syd exclaimed. She quickly flipped to page 8 and began reading the article. She was shocked to discover that this tabloid was calling her a lesbian. As she finished reading the article, she dropped it onto the table and fell back into a chair. "Oh I think I'm going to be sick." She muttered. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. She then felt the couch cousion shift as Sky's weight was added as he sat next to her. She felt him place his hand on her back. Syd quickly sat up and looked at him. "You don't think..." She asked, worried he actually believed those pictures. "I mean..." Sky shook his head.

"I've known you far too long to believe some stupid rumor... Plus, if it was true, there would have been more hints." He told her. Syd nodded slightly, still not believing him.  
"And besides, you and Z fight too much to ever be a couple... I mean you'd kill each other." He joked, trying to get a smile or laugh out of Syd. Syd sighed.

"I cannot believe this." She said. "I just don't understa..." She paused as something dawned on her. "STACY!" She screeched. Sky jumped at her loudness.

"Who?" He questioned as Syd jumped from her spot and paced around the room.

"Stacy was my manager, until I fired her earlier today... She was the one who paid people to take those pictures of me and Jack to make it look like we were a couple... And now she's done this! ARGH!" Syd kicked her foot out and struck the corner of a chair roughly. The pain coursed through her foot and leg, but she ignored it. Anger right now overpowered the pain.

"So, you and Jack aren't a couple?" Sky asked.

"No!" Syd yelled.

"And you two were never together?"

"No!" Syd repeated.

"Oh." Sky said. Syd glared at him.

"'Oh'?" She asked. "I've got tabloids printing lies about me and all you've got to say is 'oh'?"

"I'm sorry." Sky said. Syd let out an angry shriek before getting up and storming out of the room. Sky stared at the door.

"Wait...What just happened?" He asked himself. Sky hesitated a moment before pushing himself off the couch and heading towards Syd's room. He was going to tell her. Sure, wasn't the greatest timing ever, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter. She was right. She was having horrible lies spread about her and she had no one to turn to. As he approached the room, he noticed the closed door and knocked softly before the automatic door swished open. He stepped in and glanced around. Syd was nowhere to be found.

"Syd?" He called out.

Sky stepped farther into the room and looked around. "Syd?" He called out again. The female in question poked her head out from her closet.

"What? Come here to make some comments about me?" She snapped. Sky's eyebrows shot up.

"I didn't make any comments about you…" Sky said. Syd narrowed her eyes.

"Not verbally maybe." She said. Sky gave her an odd look.

"What other comments are there, if not verbal comments?" He asked.

"Your tone, for one thing." Syd snapped.

"My tone?" Sky asked. "What tone?"

"That tone!" She replied, throwing her hands up in the air. Sky tilted his head to the side a little before looking at her.

"Syd, I don't have a tone.." He tried to explain. Syd laughed darkly.

"Right, like I believe that." She growled. Sky opened his mouth to explain but Syd held her hand up.

"Don't even bother Sky. I'm sick of hearing what everything thinks about me." She told him. Sky re-opened his mouth in defense but he was interrupted by Kat's voice over the loudspeaker.

"All B-squad cadets to the command center immedality!" Sky sighed. _Wonderful_, he thought bitterly.

"Come on." He said to Syd. Within minutes, Jack, Sky, and Syd stood in the command center with Sam floating in his unmorphed form beside Syd's shoulder.

"Rangers, Morganna is attacking near the beach. You need you to stop her." Cruger barked at them. The three rangers saluted and ran from the room. As they ran, each of them wondered what would happen; would they have the misfortune of running into Bridge? And if so, would they be able to get him away from Morganna without hurting him? Once the rangers were outside, Jack looked at Sky and Syd.

"You guys ready?" He asked. The two gave him a nod. "All right."

"SPD, EMERGENCY!" The three of them bellowed as they morphed. Syd hopped into the jeep, accompanied by Sam in morphed form. Jack and Sky jumped onto their respective bikes and they headed towards the beach. Meanwhile Morganna stood in the park besides the beach, laughing. Today she was going to strike the rangers while they were down. It hadn't been even a full day since they had received the blow of having to see their friend not only not know who any of them were, but be their enemy as well and she knew this was the perfect time to strike the rest of them. A tingle of excitement ran through her body in anticipation. A little while later, at the edge of the beach, Syd pulled up the jeep as the guys stopped their bikes beside the parked car. The four rangers disembarked their mode of transportation and prepared for battle.

"Okay guys, stay alert, we could be walking into an ambush." Jack said. The rangers slowly walked forward, guns drawn. None of them said a word to each other as they crept forward. Morganna laughed silently before drawing her weapon and sending a blast to the ground in front of them. The four rangers were barely able to dodge out of the way in time.

"Over there." Sam said, pointing to a sand dune a few feet away. There stood Morganna, still decked out in battle garb. The rangers regrouped and held their weapons out. Morganna simply chuckled.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" She asked innocently.

"Yeah." Syd said snidely. "There's more of us, and we've each got weapons, what do you think?" Morganna seemed pensive for a bit.

"I think I better even out these odds." She said. Then, with a mere snap of her fingers, seven monsters appeared around her. "Whoops." She giggled. "Guess the odds are a little bit more in my favor now, huh?" She asked. Syd rolled her eyes.

"We can still beat you Morganna, it's a proven fact." She grumbled. Jack chuckled.

"Let's go guys." He commended. The four rangers ran forward and blasted the monsters as they went. In their blasting, three of the monsters were severely injured, leaving only four.

"Split up." Jack commanded. Without response each of the rangers took on one of the remaining monsters. Morganna stood back watching the simultaneous battles going on, a little displeased that the rangers weren't being defeated as easily as she had hoped. Morganna grumbled as she watched them fight. She was going to have to up her plans, meaning taking out another ranger. Smirking to herself, her eyes grazed across the crowd before she spotted the blue ranger fighting one of the monsters. Laughing, Morganna raised her arm, holding her gun in her fist. Her fingers curled around the trigger slowly. Syd, who had been fighting a monster that was situated between Sky and Morganna, saw the gun being raised in the direction of Sky. Syd's eyes widened. She tried to warn Sky but she was practically out of breath from all the exertion of fighting the monster. She saw Morganna's finger curl even more around the trigger. It was like slow motion and Syd felt utterly helpless. Before she knew what she was doing, she was shoving the monster she was fighting away and running to Sky to push him out of the way. Sky defeated his monster and just then saw what was going on. He looked up just in time to see Morganna fire her laser. The next thing he knew, he was being tackled to the ground. His hit his head hard and was dazed momentarily. Sky could feel some sort of weight on top of him and voices in the distance.

"SYD!" Yelled one voice. Sky blinked as his head cleared. He looked down and was a little surprised to see a pink helmet on his shoulder.

"Syd?" He asked, not sure why she was just lying there on top of him. He then looked up and saw Morganna coming at them with her weapon. Sky quickly scrambled to his feet and shot at her hand, making her drop her weapon. She glared at him and held her hurt hand in the other. "Take another step and I'll make sure my aim's better." He said lowly. Morganna narrowed her eyes. Her eyes then shifted to Syd. Sky wasn't about to chance taking his eyes off her and just continued glaring at her. Morganna smirked before disappearing, along with the remaining monsters. Sky sighed and lowered his blaster. "Syd, you okay?" He asked. He received no answer. Sky drew a perplexed expression and turned. Syd was just lying there, unmoving. "Syd?" He asked. His throat tightened as the cold hand of fear gripped his heart. He quickly scrambled to her side and kneeled besides her, lifting her body up a bit. "Syd?" He asked. "Syd, come on, wake up." He pleaded, shaking her gently. The only response he got was Syd's head falling back. He heard footsteps behind him and knew it was Jack and Sam running to them. He gently set her back down and reached down to her neck, feeling the latches that held her helmet in place. He quickly unhooked them and pulled off her helmet and tossed it aside. He had hoped that seeing her face would assure him she was okay, but he was wrong. She was unconscious. Sky touched her cheek gently. "Syd, Syd come on, this isn't funny." He said. Sky's hand slipped down the side of her neck to feel for a pulse, but there wasn't one. A large lump formed in his throat. "Syd!" He yelled his voice breaking. He grabbed her in her arms and held her close, burying his head in the crook of her neck. "Wake up, Syd." He whispered against her neck. His body shuddered with sobs. Jack and Sam finally reached them. Jack fell to his knees in front of Sky and held Syd's hand. _No.._ He thought as something in him told him exactly why Sky was crying. He blinked and swallowed around the lump forming in his throat.

"Sky." He said, his voice came out horse and weak. He cleared his throat. "Sky." He repeated his voice clearer. "We have to take her to the infirmary." He said. Sky sat up and brushed some of Syd's blonde curls from her forehead.

"She won't wake up." Sky whimpered, barely holding back his sobs. Jack nodded.

"I know, I know." Jack said. He stood up. He put a hand on Sky's shoulder, telling him to let her go. Sky's arms went limp around her body. Jack bent down and carefully lifted her up in his arms. Syd's head lifelessly fell against his chest. Jack took a deep breath and looked straight ahead. "Sam, get Syd's helmet." Was all he said as he carried her off. Sam slowly bent down and picked up the discarded helmet and tucked it under his arm.

"Sky?" Sam's voice was barely above a whisper. Sky slowly lifted his head and looked at the Omega ranger. Sam couldn't see Sky's face, but he had no doubt that the blue ranger had tears running down his cheeks. "Come on, we should head back to base." He said softly. Sky nodded slightly before pushing himself up. Sam was right. They needed to get back. Sky looked over and saw Jack putting Syd in the passenger seat of the jeep. He and Sam were soon over by the jeep and the bikes and Jack looked at Sam.

"Think you can drive it back to base?" Jack asked. As much as Sam drove the omega cycle, no one actually knew if he could drive a car, so he wasn't sure. Sam nodded.

"Yeah." He said.

"Good." Jack said, handing him the ignition keys. "Drive fast." He said lowly. Sam nodded and got in the drivers side and turned the key in the ignition. He pulled away and drove off heading back to base. Jack turned to Sky who was just standing there, staring at the jeep which was quickly disappearing into the distance. "Come on." Was all Jack said as he went over to his bike. Sky numbly followed and went to his bike. The two rangers mounted their bikes and took off. The ride back to the base was one of the longest that Sky ever endured. All he could think about was Syd tackling him to the ground, over and over again. They finally arrived to the base and parked in the holding bay and quickly disembarked their bikes, demorphing in the process. They went up the escalators, running up the moving stairs. As soon as they reached the top, they saw Kat standing there, wringing her fingers in her hands.

"Is she…" Sky began his voice cracking.

"Dr. Felix and the med squad are looking her over now." She informed them.

"Can we see her?" Jack asked. She shook her head.

"Not right now." She said.

"What do you mean, 'not right now'!" Sky growled. Kat's eyes went wide a bit at his tone but recovered somewhat quickly.

"Dr. Felix can't have anyone in there right now." She said. Sky went to say something else but was stopped by Jack, who put a hand of restraint on his shoulder.

"Let's just go to the common room." He said. He looked at Kat. "Can you come and get us as soon as we can go see her?" He asked. Kat nodded. Jack gave her a nod of thanks and led Sky off.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

A few minutes before, Z had been in the infirmary, staring off into the distance. Her mind was a jumbled mess as she thought about what had happened earlier. _Bridge's evil._ She thought to herself. _Bridge shot me………..He could've killed me. He-_ Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the double doors of the infirmary crashing open. She heard the sounds of wheels creaking on the polished marble floor and the voices of the med squad overlapping each other.

"I don't have a pulse." Came one voice.

"Her bp's low." Said another.

"Cadet, you need to intubate." Came the voice of Dr. Felix. Z blinked as she looked up. She couldn't see much since the med squad and Dr. Felix obscured her view, but something caught her eye-A flash of blonde curls on the gurney. Z sat up and slowly got out of the bed she had been lying in. As the squad moved about, she caught glimpses of who was lying there. She saw Syd lying there with one of the med squad cadets standing by her head trying to intubate.

"Syd?" Z asked softly. Her heart rammed against her chest as she saw Syd lying there, unmoving. "Syd!" She screamed. She shoved through the mass of cadets and stood at her side. "What happened? Why is she like this?" She asked franticly.

"Cadet Delgado, we need you to step away." She heard Dr. Felix say. Z felt hands on her shoulders, trying to pull her aside.

"Get off me!" Z screamed at them. She took Syd's hand in hers. "Syd, wake up." She pleaded softly.

"Some one get her out of here." Dr. Felix commanded. Z felt two sets of hands grab her shoulders. Z struggled as they pulled her away.

"Syd!" Z screamed. The two cadets that had pulled her away dragged her outside the infirmary. "Let go of me!" She yelled.

"Z!" She heard someone yell. "I'll take care of her." Z heard the voice say to the two cadets. They let her go and went back to the infirmary. Z went to go back in but someone grabbed her arm. She spun around to see Kat.

"What's going on?" Z demanded. "….What happened to Syd? What happened!" Z shrieked.

"Syd got hurt; she's going to be okay." Kat said, trying to calm her down. She didn't in fact know how Syd would be, but she had to say something for Z's sake. "Syd got hurt? How? What happened? Kat please tell me!" Z cried, tears filling her eyes. Kat was speechless and didn't know what to say.

"Z, you need to get back in bed." Kat commented softly. Z scrunched her face up and pulled her arms into her chest and let out a strangled cry.

"This can't be happening." She whispered as she sank down to the floor. Kat looked around, a little panicked, unsure what to do. She wasn't used to dealing with such breakdowns and just stood there helpless.

"I…….Uh……….Jack….." Kat said. Z looked up at her.

"Jack? Where is he? Is he okay?" Z asked. She couldn't take it if her "brother" was hurt as well as her "sister".

"No, no." Kat said quickly. "He's in the common room." She carefully took Z's arm and gently pulled her to her feet. "I'll take you to him." She said. Z weakly stumbled against her. Kat put an arm around Z's waist and helped her stand, leading her off to the common room.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Jack and Sky were in the common room. Jack was standing by the bar; leaning against it, deep in thought and Sky was sitting on the couch, silent, tears running down his face. The door swished open and the two guys heads shot up faster than lighting, hoping it was Kat telling them that they could see Syd, or even better, that Syd was perfectly alright and had just hit her head. As the door fully opened, in walked Kat with Z.

"Z." Jack said, going over to them. Z looked up at Jack and rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him.

"Jack!" She whimpered. Jack hugged her back and looked at Kat.

"How is-"

"They're still looking her over." Kat said. She turned and left the room. Jack sighed and led Z over to the couch and sat her down. He sat next to her. Z pulled her legs up on the cough, her knees against the couch and fell into Jack's arms, crying. Jack just sat there, holding her. After a while, Z's sobs died, and she just sat in Jack's arms. The room was in total silence.

"It's my fault." Sky said his horse and emotionally filled voice breaking the silence. Jack looked over Z's shoulder at him. "I……I should've paid attention to what was going on." He continued, berating himself. "I…I should've seen Morganna and gotten out of the way."

"No." Z said her voice equally as horsed as Sky's. "It's not your fault." She said.

"Z's right." Jack said, rubbing his "sister's" back.

"It's mine." Z said. "I should've been there with you guys. If I had been there, Syd would be fine."

"It's no ones fault." Jack stated firmly. "No ones, except Morganna." Z's eyes filled with anger at the mention of her name.

"Morganna." Z said lowly. She got up from the couch and paced about, angrily. "I'll kill her!" Jack stood up.

"Z, your not going anywhere right now." He told her gently, leading her back over to the couch. Z snatched her arm away.

"No! This is all her fault. She took Bridge, she hurt Syd." Sky stood up and went to her.

"Z…..As much as I'd love to go and kill her myself, we can't. Not now. We're in no condition to face her, none of us are." Z sighed and looked down.

"Come on, all we can do right now is wait for Kat to let us go see her." Jack said. The three of them sat down. "She'll be okay." Jack assured them, as much as himself. The room was engulfed in silence yet again.

"Why'd she do it?" Sky asked.

"Why did who do what?" Jack asked.

"Syd, why did she push me out of the way?" Sky asked. Z and Jack both gave him a look. "I mean……She was mad at me…….I'm not sure why, but…..Before we went off, Syd was really pissed at me. I………I don't understand."

"You don't understand?" Z asked. "………How stupid are you?" Sky gave her a look. "Don't you get it?" Z asked, a little frustrated at how Sky could be so clueless.

"Get what?" Sky asked.

"Z, maybe now isn't the time-" Jack began.

"She loves you, you moron." Z said to Sky, ignoring Jack. Sky's eyes widened.

"She……what?" He asked.

"You heard me." Z said. Sky sat back, looking forward and the room was engulfed in silence yet again. Sky leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. He stayed like this for a while.

"FUCK!" He shouted, causing Z and Jack to jump.

"Sky?" Jack asked. "You okay?" Sky sat up.

"How long?" He asked.

"How long…..?" Jack asked.

"How long has she felt like that?" Sky asked. Jack and Z shrugged.

"A while, I guess." Jack said. Sky looked at him.

"You knew too?" He slumped back and beat his hand on the couch. "Jesus fucking Christ."

"What is it?" Z asked.

"You mean to tell me, all this time, she's…….loved me, and I've been jealous of you and her?" Sky asked Jack.

"You were jealous of me?" Jack asked.

"You were jealous of him?" Z asked.

"I thought you and Syd were together." Sky said. He closed his eyes. "I'm such a goddamn idiot." Sky said. "All this time……."

"All this time what?" Z asked, losing her patience.

"All this time, she and I could've been together." Sky said. Z and Jack looked at him.

"You mean, you…..?" Z asked.

"I knew it." Jack said.

"You knew?" Z asked.

"Well, not…….100 but I had my suspicions." Jack asked. Sky sighed.

"I…….I was going to tell her." Sky said softly. "When we got the order to come to the command center, I was just about to tell her……Well, once I figured out why exactly she was pissed at me." Z scooted closer to Sky and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, understanding how he was feeling.

"……..Jeez." Jack said.

"So, Morganna took Bridge seconds before he was going to ask you out." Sky said. "And hurts Syd before I could tell her I love her."

"Morganna sure knows when to strike. It's like she's got this beacon that goes off whenever any of us are about to advance romantically." Jack said.

"That bitch." Z said, her voice dripping with venom. Sky gave a grunt of agreement.


	9. Middle Ground

That night was one of the longest Sky had ever had. He got very little sleep, and the sleep he did get was plagued by dreams of Syd crashing into him. Finally, around 5am he couldn't take it anymore and he ventured out of his room. He wandered down the empty and dimly lit hallways towards the infirmary. He knew that he most likely wouldn't be allowed in, but it was worth a shot. Sky continued down the hallway, his grey sweats flowing against his legs. He walked up to the door of the infirmary and waited a moment before they swished open. He saw the room was empty except for Syd and the mystery girl lying in the beds and a D-level cadet standing by the door. He went to walk in when the cadet spun around and held up his blaster, aiming it at Sky.

"Whoa, whoa." Sky said, putting his hands up and stepping back. The cadet's eyes widened and he quickly lowered the gun.

"Oh, sorry, sir." He said. "I……I was ordered to guard the infirmary and I guess…."

"It's okay." Sky said. He stepped inside. The cadet holstered his weapon and stood up straight, saluting him.

"Cadet Anderson, at your service, sir." He said. Sky looked at him. He knew the guy….well, actually, was practically a kid. He had joined the academy a few years ago and had been working his way up the ranks since.

"Kevin, right?" Sky asked. The cadet seemed to be overjoyed that Sky would know his name.

"Right, sir." He said, beaming with some pride that a B-squad cadet knew his name.

"I thought you were still in E-Squad." He said.

"Just got promoted, sir." Kevin said. Sky nodded.

"They stuck you with this shift on your first night, eh?" He asked. Kevin gave a short laugh-slash-sigh. "Well, congratulations. I'm sure you'll be going up to C-Squad in no time."

"Thank you, sir." Kevin said. Sky nodded.

"Would it be all right if I sat with…" Sky began. Kevin understood immediately, figuring he'd want to be with his injured teammate for a little while.

"Of course, I'll be outside." Kevin said. He saluted Sky once more before leaving the room. Sky waited until Kevin had exited the room before moving to Syd's bedside. Sky stood over, Syd's bed, staring down at the fallen pink ranger. It was eerie seeing her like this. Syd was usually so bubbly and full of life, her blonde curls bouncing when she moved about, her eyes sparkling. Now, her face was pale, her curls lay limp on the pillow haloing her face, her eyes were closed and there were tubes down her throat. Sky shut his eyes as the sight of her in this condition brought on an involuntary shudder of despair. He went and pulled up a chair, setting it beside the bed and sitting in it. He reached over and took her hand in his. Her soft skin, which normally felt so good and warm, now felt dull and a little cold. He squeezed her hand and reached up, stroking her forehead with his other hand.

"You plan on waking up anytime soon?" He asked softly. The only response he got was the hissing and pumping of the respirator that was breathing for her and making her chest rise and fall. Sky's eyes glanced down as his thumb ran over her hand. "You have to wake up." He said. He leaned his head down and kissed the back of her hand softly, letting his lips linger against her skin. "Because I won't be able to live with myself if you didn't." He whispered against her hand. He sighed and lowered his head, pressing his cheek against her hand. "I won't be able to live with myself without you." He added. Again, the only response he got was the hissing and pumping. Sky let out a shuddered breath as he closed his eyes and tears rolled down his cheeks. As the tears slipped down his cheeks, Sky failed to notice the mysterious girl waking up across the way. Her eyes slowly opened and her hand reached up to rub her eyes. She slowly sat up and took in her surroundings. She noted the guy in the corner sitting with the girl who was lying on the bed. She slowly pushed herself off the bed and stood up, looking around.

"Where am I?" She questioned her voice a little louder than she had originally intended. The sound startled Sky, who quickly stood up and spun around.

"You're at the Space Patrol Delta Academy." He told her. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Who are you exactly?" He questioned. The mystery girl paused for a second.

"D…Dori." She said.

"You got a last name?" Sky asked.

"Never felt the need for one." She responded. Sky looked her up and down. _Probably just some street girl or something. _He thought to himself.

"Is she going to be okay?" Dori asked, bringing Sky out of his thoughts. He looked at her and saw she was peering over at Syd.

"We don't know." Sky said sadly. Dori tilted her head.

"What happened?" She asked. Sky narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Same thing that happened to you, but she got a heavier hit." He said.

"Morganna did this?" Dori asked. Sky gave her a look. "I heard those………….things calling her that." She said with a shrug.

"Whatever." Was all Sky said as he turned back to Syd and took her hand again. "So, Dori, any idea why you were attacked this afternoon?" He asked. Dori bit her lip behind his back. _Ohhh, I have a pretty good idea. _She thought to herself.

"No clue." She replied. "Guess the girl was bored or something."

"Well, I guess if you're okay, you'll be good to go home." Sky said. Dori's eyes widened a bit. She knew that if she was seen by Morganna, she'd get attacked, and she was in no shape to defend herself against any onslaught her darling sister would try to bring on. _There's no way I'm leaving here._

"I can't." She blurted out. Sky turned his head to her.

"You can't?" Sky asked. Dori thought for a second.

"Uh…..Don't have a home to go to." She said. Quickly, a story formed in her head. "……No family either." She added. Sky nodded slowly.

"Well you'll have to talk to the commander about this..." Sky trailed off. Dori nodded and moved towards Syd.

"So who is she?" She questioned. Sky looked at her.

"Syd... B-squad Pink ranger." Sky replied. Dori nodded slightly.

"Your girlfriend?" She asked, nonchalantly Sky made a noise between a cough and a laugh. "That a no?" Dori asked.

"It's complicated." Sky offered. Dori nodded slightly.

"Right, I'm sure it is." She replied. Sky sighed.

"Any other questions?" Sky snarled. Dori took a step back.

"Sorry... I was just wondering..." She trailed off. Sky sighed again.

"Look I'm sorry; it's just a touchy subject right now." He replied. Dori shook her head.

"I should be the one apologizing, here I am, literally a nobody to you and I'm prying into your life..." She trailed off. _That's it, play the uber-nice and sweet card, you'll definitely get to stay_ she told herself.

"Well, I guess curiosity is a virtue." Sky offered. Dori smirked.

"I guess." She said. There was a swishing sound as the door opened, Sky turned to the door, expecting to see Kevin standing there, instead there was Jack and Z.

"Hey guys." he commented. Jack nodded, while Z headed over to Syd's bed. Jack looked over at Dori.

"I see our mysterious guest has returned to the world of the living." Jack commented. Dori smirked.

"Jack, Z, this is Dori; Dori, Jack, Z." Sky said, introducing them all. Z didn't really pay attention and Jack gave the girl a friendly smile. Dori returned the same smile.

"So Dori, where are you from?" Jack questioned. Dori's smile faded a little

"Oh you know, here and there." She replied. Jack tilted his head and crossed his arms.

"Mind being a bit more specific?" He asked. _Crap. _Dori thought.

"I just tend to just move around…….you know, don't stay in one place for too long." She said.

"I see. So, what are some of the places you've been to?" Jack asked. _What is this, The Inquisition? _Dori wondered.

"What's with the 3rd degree?" Dori asked, giving a nervous chuckle.

"I'm curious." Jack replied.

"Well you know what they say about curiosity." Dori said, giving a playful wink. Jack's face remained the same.

"Could I have an answer please?" He questioned. Dori was slightly taken aback. _What a jerk! _She thought.

"I'm originally from Briarwood..." She trailed off.

"Oh? What part?" Jack asked.

"……North…" Dori replied, her tone going up a bit at the end.

"Are you asking me?" Jack smirked. _All right, this isn't working. _She thought. _Time for a different route. _Dori's chin trembled as she ducked her head a bit and let out a few whimpered sobs. Sky, Jack and Z both looked at her.

"Why are you interrogating me?" Dori whimpered. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Jack! Look what you did." Z admonished. She stood up and went over to Dori and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be upset, we're just all really stressed right now with all the stuff that's going on." Z said. Dori sat down on the bed she had been lying on before and buried her head in her hands. Z shot Jack a glare before sitting beside the girl. _Man, these people are so easy. _Dori thought to herself, grinning a bit behind her hands.

"It's okay." She sniffled. The grin left her face and she sat up, wiping away a phantom tear. "I guess I'm a little stressed too."

"Of course you are, I mean, you just got attacked out of no where today, it's absolutely normal to be a little emotional." Z assured her. Dori nodded slightly.

"Thanks." Dori said. Z gave Jack a look.

"Well?" She asked.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Aren't you going to apologize?" She asked. Jack's face fell.

"Apologize?" Jack asked, astonished.

"Yeah." Z said. Dori sniffled.

"It's okay. He doesn't need to apologize." She said. _This is just too easy. _She thought to herself.

"Of course he does." Z said. She glared at Jack. "Apologize." She said through gritted teeth. Jack sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said. Z looked at Jack. "Could you actually apologize and mean it for once Jack?" She questioned. Jack's jaw dropped.

"I did mean it!" Jack said indignantly.

"Hey, Itchy, Scratchy, mind doing this somewhere else?" Sky asked. Both Z and Jack looked at him and realized he had a point. This was not the time or place for this.

"Sorry." They both mumbled. Sky just rolled his eyes and turned back to Syd. He stared at her as the pumping and hissing continued. Z and Jack watched her as well, forgetting about their argument and only thinking about Syd. Dori watched them all. _These are the big and bad rangers that have been such a pain for my sister and her boss? Humph, they're not so tough. _She thought to herself. Then an idea struck her. The perfect way to do the proverbial "screw you" to her sister was just within her reach. She could gain the ranger's trust, become their "friend", and once she had enough information, she could give it to Grumm. _Heh, that ought to knock Morgie down a peg or two. _She thought as she suppressed a smirk.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Bridge sat in Morganna's room on Grumm's ship, staring off into the distance with a scowl while Morganna skipped about the room with her doll in her hands. She went over and plopped herself on Bridge's lap.

"Did you see, darling?" She asked. "I blasted one of the rangers."

"Ya don't say." Bridge said sarcastically. "I must've missed it the first fifteen hundred times you've said it." He growled. Morganna pouted.

"My darling's got a grumpy face." She said. She held up her doll. "Cindy Sunshine agrees." Bridge slowly looked at her with smoldering eyes. Morganna grinned and bounced on his lap. She held up the doll and pressed the face against Bridge's cheek making a loud smacking sound as if Cindy Sunshine was kissing Bridge. "She likes you." She giggled. Bridge growled and snatched the doll away from her, tossing it across the room. Morganna shrieked. "You threw my dolly!" She screamed.

"And your point is?" Bridge asked. He groaned and got up, shoving Morganna off his lap. "God, I'm so bored." He groaned, pacing about the room. Morganna pouted and looked at him.

"I'm sorry to hear that I'm so boring." She said. Bridge turned and looked at the now pouting Morganna.

"I'm not saying you're boring... I'm just bored with being here." He grumbled.

"Well, you didn't need to take it out on Cindy Sunshine." Morganna said.

"Shut up about that stupid doll!" Bridge yelled. Morganna's jaw dropped. "She is not stupid!" She yelled back. Bridge laughed loudly.

"Then throw her away!" He remarked angrily.

"Why are you being so mean?" Morganna whined.

"Because you're pathetic!" He countered. Morganna's eyes widened. She fell onto her bed and sat down.

"You're a meanie!" She shrieked as she broke into sobs. Bridge just rolled his eyes at the blubbering Morganna.

"Oh grow up. Your 20 years old for god's sake. Stop acting like a child." Morganna glared at him. _I don't understand._ Morganna thought to herself. This wasn't the person she had been attracted to, why was he so mean. _Because you brainwashed him and turned him evil, you ninny! _A voice in her head nagged.

"Oh……Bullocks." She muttered as she realized that yes, this wasn't the man she had fallen for because she had gotten rid of the man she had fallen for. _Maybe I should just cut my loses and undo this before it gets even worse. _She thought to herself. She turned to Bridge and gave him a smile. "Oh darling." She said. She sauntered over to him and put her arms around his neck. "I don't like you all grumpy." She said, giving him a cute child like pout. "How about I make it all better?" She asked. Bridge raised an eyebrow.

"What are you blathering about?" He asked. Morganna stepped back and took his hand.

"Just come with me." She said. She led him deeper into the room to where the capsule she had put him in before was. Bridge stared at the device as Morganna skipped to the console and began pressing some buttons. "This'll make you not grumpy anymore." She promised. Bridge rolled his eyes.

"Really?" He asked. Morganna nodded. Bridge went over to her. Morganna drew a wide grin as it looked like Bridge was going to get in the capsule. Instead, he went and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back.

"Ow!" Morganna whined.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Bridge hissed in her ear. "As if I'm going to get in that thing." He pushed her away and stepped back. Morganna bumped into the console and fell down. Bridge looked at her with an expression of pure contempt.

"I'm out of here." He said. And with that, he vanished. Morganna cringed.

"This can't be good." She said out loud.


	10. Cosmo

The following morning, Sky and Z talked to Cruger about Dori and how the girl had no place to go. At first, the commander was put off at the idea that they were supposed to tend to every wayward young person they found, but, by the end of the day, Dori had a job sorting and delivering mail in the mail room and had a room in the F-Squad wing. As the days went by, Dori began observing the rangers and using that to get close to them. It was rather easy with the yellow ranger seeing as her friend was in a coma and she was very open to any female friend to fill the void caused by the absence of the pink ranger. Sky was a little harder, merely for the fact that he was always at Syd's side, so it was hard to get close to him. But even with that, Dori found a way to chat with him a few times. Jack, on the other hand, was one hard egg to crack. A few days after she'd begun working in the mailroom, Dori was going about the base, distributing mail when she walked into the common room. She saw Jack, Z and other cadets of various levels in there. Z saw her walk in and gave her a smile.

"Hey." Z said. Dori returned the smile before giving out the mail she had to the other cadets. She finally came over to Jack and Z, where she had magazines for both of them. She gave Z's hers, and then simply tossed Jack's onto his lap. Jack quickly caught it before it fell to the ground and glared at her.

"Thanks." He said through gritted teeth. Dori gave him a tight smile. Z rolled her eyes. She looked at Dori.

"Hey, some of the D cadets are playing movies in the lower deck common room, you want to go check them out?" Z asked. Dori shook her head.

"Can't, still on the clock." Dori said. Z cast a look at the mail still in her arms.

"Looks like you're almost done." She said, noting there was only one magazine in her arms. Dori looked down.

"Oh, right." Her eyes then fell to the address label and she bit her lip. "Oh..." Jack and Z both looked at her.

"What is it?" Z asked. Dori cast a look at her. In the few days she had known the girl, she had observed two things—Mentioning Syd and her condition, and the girl's eyes would get downcast and she'd frown. If someone by the name of Bridge, who Dori learned was the green ranger, was mentioned, Z would cry.

"It's nothing, just a computer magazine." Dori said. Z gave her a look. It was as if she knew.

"Oh." She said, her tone losing it's curious perk it had before. There was silence. "Could...Could I have it?" She asked. Dori bit her lip. It was against the rules to give mail out to anyone other than the owners or authorized personnel, and Z was neither. "I'm not supposed to...I mean, I should just put it in a box until he's back or..." Dori saw the sad and desperate look in Z's eyes. Dori sighed. "Or I could just say I left it on his bed." She said. Z slowly got up and took the magazine from her hands. Her fingers grazed over the address label as if the printing mesmerized her. She slowly walked out of the room.

"Thanks." Came a voice. Dori looked down to see Jack giving her a grateful look. Dori's brows furrowed. She wasn't used to being sincerely thanked...by anyone...at least not for the last five years. Dori nodded slightly.

"You're welcome." She commented slowly before turning away.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Elsewhere, Sky was sitting beside Syd's bed, a place where he could be found a lot lately. He would sit there and talk to her, or just look at her. He had recently started reading to her, using some of the magazines that came for her in the mail. This was one of those occasions. There he was, sitting next to her, holding her hand, with a magazine open on his lap.

"It says here that flared jeans are coming back in style." He said, reading the magazine to her still form. He never knew she subscribed to so many magazines. He had seen a good portion of teen girl magazines, some celebrity news magazines, and some fashion magazines, which he really didn't mind reading to her, although he drew the line when he saw she had a copy of Cosmo. There just has to be a line, and he drew it there. However, curiosity got the best of him. He slowly pushed aside the magazines that lay on top of the one in question and picked it up.

"Are you good in bed?" He read the title carefully. "Turn to page 91 to find out." He continued before flipping the magazine open. He began to read the article. Too involved with the magazine, Sky didn't hear the doors swish open and someone enter the room. "I like it when my girlfriend digs her nails into my back." He read out loud. The person who'd entered the room peered over at Sky.

"Pardon me?" Came the voice. Sky shot straight out of his chair and bolted around, the magazine flying from his hands across the room. He looked up and saw Jack standing there just as the magazine landed on the floor and slid across the floor, stopping right by the red ranger's feet. "Bit of a kinky fetish, don't you think?" He asked with a smirk. Sky gave him a scowl. Jack laughed and bent down, picking up the magazine. "Oh man, a Cosmo? I've actually never seen one of these things up close." Sky rolled his eyes.

"Be my guest." He said, indicating Jack could indulge his curiosity. Jack chuckled and leaned against the wall, flipping open the magazine.

"Jackpot." He chuckled. "Top Ten Sexual Position for Maximized Pleasure." He read out loud. Sky gave him a look.

"Mind reading to yourself?" He asked.

"Sorry." Jack said. He continued to read, and dawned a pained expression. "Whoa...Is that even humanly possible?" He pondered aloud, tilting his head to try and comprehend the position illustrated on the magazine. "I mean...Sure, maybe if I was dating a gymnast, but..."

"JACK!" Came a voice. Causing him to jump and turn around. Sky looked up as well and they saw Kat standing there with a look that just told them she had come up behind Jack and seen what he was looking at. Jack's eyes went wide.

"Uh...No...It's not what you think..." Jack sputtered quickly. Kat quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head in a very feline manner as she crossed her arms.

"Oh really?" She asked.

"It's Sky's!" Jack said quickly. Kat gave Sky a look.

"No! It's not like that!" Sky said quickly. He went on to explain that he had collected an arm full of Syd's magazines, with permission to be in the room from Z of course, brought them into the infirmary and would read them to Syd. As he spoke, Kat's expression softened at how thoughtful he was in his actions and how it was a bit adorable that he was spending his time with her. By the end of his explanation was done, she had an expression that just screamed "awwwwwwwwwww".

"Well, that's very sweet of you, Sky." She said. She walked over to Jack and took the magazine from his hands. She flipped it shut. "Hmmm." She said as she saw that it was the latest issue. She looked up at Sky. "My issue hasn't gotten here yet, do you think Syd would mind if-"

"Go ahead." Sky said quickly, afraid that if he refused, this exchange would find its way to Cruger's ears. Kat smiled before leaving the room, reading the magazine. Jack and Sky watched her departing figure in shock and awe.

"Ever have one of those mental images that no shower no matter how long, will remove the dirty factor?" Jack asked at the thought of Dr. Kat Manx reading and taking into account the things in that magazine. Jack gave a slight shudder and turned back to Sky. He glanced at Syd. "Any change?" He asked. Sky sighed and shook his head. Jack went and sat at the other side of Syd.

"Like, I've been doing everything I can to keep from crawling in the corner and blubbering like a fool. I mean, I sit here and talk to her about us and Bridge back when we first started out here, you know, stupid stuff we do. I read to her, I..." He trailed off.

"What?" Jack asked.

"It's nothing." Sky said.

"Come on." Jack pleaded. Sky sighed.

"I've just been thinking about what I'll say to her when she wakes up." Sky finally revealed. Jack blinked.

"Really?" He asked. Sky nodded. They were silent for a moment. "Well?" Jack questioned. Sky looked at him.

"Well what?" He asked back.

"What are you thinking about saying to her." Stated, as if it was obvious. Sky frowned with reluctance. "Come on." Jack said.

"I really would-"

"Come on, don't be a wuss." Jack said. Sky glared.

"Fine." He said. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped, releasing the breath. "Can you, like, not look at me...?" He asked. Jack rolled his eyes and turned his back to Sky. He heard Sky take a deep breath. "Syd, I know that things have been weird between us for a while and I'm sure you've wondered what the hell's been going on in my head. Well, I thought you and Jack were together and that...got me really jealous and upset." Jack heard Sky take a deep breath. "And the reason why I was jealous and upset is because I'm in love with you." After that there was silence. "That's it." Sky said. Jack turned back to him.

"That's it?" He asked. "That's pathetic." Sky scowled.

"What do you mean, pathetic?" He asked.

"It's just so...like, to the point." Jack said. "Like, where's your emotion?"

"I figured that could be found in 'I'm in love with you'." Sky said. Jack gave him a look.

"Look, you love Syd, right?"

"Uh, duh." Sky said.

"Well, you've got to like show her that you love her."

"What, like poetry?" Sky asked, puzzled.

"Not necessarily poetry, but...well, okay there's poetry and there's what you just said, and what you should say is some where in between." Jack said, trying his best to explain. Sky looked down at Syd. He knew what Jack was trying to say, but he wasn't used to expressing feelings like that, even though they coursed through him every time he saw or even thought of Sydney Drew.

"I wouldn't know what to say." Sky replied honestly.

"Maybe this isn't something you're supposed to prepare well in advance. It's not a speech, man." Jack offered. "We're talking about professing your love to her, not debriefing cadets." Jack shrugged. "Just look at her and say whatever comes to you." Sky sighed as he let Jack's words sink in.

"I guess you're right." He said, although the idea of not having something prepared and just winging it did bring on some internal anxiety. He reached over and took Syd's and in his and ran his thumb along her palm.

Author Note: Hey guys, just so you know, this story is nominated for a Sky and Syd award for Best Romantic Moment and Best Tender Moment. The voting starts tomorrow and goes on till the 17th. So, here's the link to the site http/thesydandskyawards. case any of you want to vote for us or any of the other nominees.


	11. Jack's Skewed Logic

_Show her how I feel... How exactly would I do that?_ Sky pondered the following day as he walked the academy grounds. He had literally been shooed out of the infirmary to go shower, eat and just rest in general. Sky, however, had only completed two of those tasks, the first two. He was now pacing around the front of the academy, deep in thought regarding Syd. 'I could always do the dinner and a movie thing...' He mused. He stopped and thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. 'Too overdone.' He continued to pace. Dori, who was on her day off, stood over to the side of the building watching the brooding blue ranger. He seemed to be trapped within his head a lot these days, although she couldn't blame him. Someone who he cared for deeply was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for her life. She tried to remember what it was like to have someone care for her, and care for them in return, but the memory was too far from the present to retrieve easily, so she gave up with a sigh. Dori slowly stepped away from the wall and got closer to Sky. She was within inches of him but he didn't even glance her way. Finally, when he turned in his pacing, he nearly smacked into her. Sky quickly stepped back and looked at her.

"Sorry." He said. Dori shook her head.

"S'ok. You all right?" She asked. Sky sighed.

"I guess." He said. Dori cocked her head to the side.

"If you have to guess then the answers probably no." She said. Sky blinked.

"That's nice." He said.

"What?" Dori asked.

"'If you have to guess then the answers probably no'. It's charming." Dori shrugged.

"My mom used to say it when I was little. Anytime she'd ask something like 'did you clean your room' or whatever, and I said 'I guess', she'd say that." Now it was Sky's turn to tilt his head.

"I thought you said you didn't have any family." He said. Dori looked at him. She looked down.

"I don't." She said. Sky paused.

"Oh. Sorry." He said.

"No biggie." Dori replied.

"So what can I do for you?" Sky questioned, figuring she wanted help of some sort. Dori smiled softly.

"Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing. You looked like you were thinking about something and I'm here to offer my help." She replied. Sky stared at her for a moment.

"Thanks for offering... But I don't think you can help me." He replied before brushing past her. Dori spun around and looked at him.

"It's about that girl isn't it?" She called. Sky stopped and slowly turned towards her.

"Is that really any of your business?" He replied coolly. Dori shrugged.

"I've seen the way you look at her. Friends don't look at friends like that." She retorted. Sky was taken aback slightly. This girl knew how to fire back almost immediality and the only person who'd ever done that to him, was Jack.

"Dori, no offense, but you need to work on your people skills." He said.

"Oh?" She asked.

"Yeah, as in knowing when you're prying." Sky said his tone near a growl. Dori's eyebrows rose.

"Yeouch." She said. "Why, I do believe I've touched a nerve." Sky rolled his eyes.

"You know, I can't for the life of me understand why someone would want to kill _you_." He spat out snidely, referring to Morganna's attack. Dori was surprised by how much that hurt her. She blinked back tears.

"Bite me, blue boy." She hissed before turning on her heel and went to leave. Sky sighed.

"Wait, I'm sorry." He said. Dori stopped but didn't turn back. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Forget it." She said. "Go back to your precious pacing." She said, walking away. Dori angrily wiped at her eyes with her fist as she stormed away from Sky. She gasped as she turned a corner and felt hands on her arms.

"Whoa, whoa, where's the fire?" She heard. She looked up and saw Jack standing in front of her. She realized that she must've almost bumped into him or something. Jack looked at her. "What's wrong?" He asked, noticing her tears.

"Oh, like you care." She replied, swatting his hands away and storming past him. Jack watched her leave, a puzzled expression fixed on his face. Jack continued to watch as Dori stormed away until a hand on his shoulder caused him to jump.

"Oh man Sky. You scared me." He commented. Sky peered at Dori's shrinking figure.

"She ran into you too eh?" He questioned. Jack just nodded.

"I may regret asking this question Sky... But did you say something to her to make her so upset?" Jack questioned. Sky just let out a sigh before nodding. "And what, pray tell, might that have been?" He asked.

"I might've lost my temper with her…….inquisitive nature…….." Sky responded slowly.

"Lost your temper in what sense?" Jack asked.

"In the sense that I brought up her run in with Morganna in a not too nice way." Sky said. Jack turned back to see Dori had disappeared in the distance and blew out a breath.

"Well, I hope that while you're thinking of a way to sweep Syd off her feet, you're thinking of a way to apologize to Dori." Sky sighed.

"Oh, wonderful." He said. Jack sighed and put a hand on his friends shoulder.

"How about I make you a deal?" He offered.

"I'm listening."

"I'll take care of the Dori thing." Jack said. Sky peered at his dreadlocked friend.

"If…" Sky prodded, knowing there was more to it.

"If you'll go to your room, crawl into bed, and get some rest." Sky sighed.

"I can't."

"Look, man, you want to be energized when Syd wakes up so you can start that sweeping, don't ya? Well, in order for that to happen, you need to catch some shut-eye."

"It's not just about Syd." Sky admitted. Jack donned a questioning expression. "I just…..how am I supposed to sleep if the minute I look across the room I remember.."

"Bridge." Jack said. "Oh, man, I'm sorry." He said. "All this time, I thought Z was having a hard time about it, I totally forgot about how this must be killing you. I mean, you, Syd and Bridge were friends long before Z and I came along, this must be hell."

"It's just hard." Sky admitted. Jack patted his shoulder.

"Everything's going to be okay. Everyone's going to be okay. Syd's going to wake up, we'll get Bridge back, and you, Syd, Z and Bridge can all go out on a double date." He said. Sky laughed a bit. Jack smiled triumphantly. He squeezed Sky's shoulder. "If you need to, you can catch your forty winks in my room." Jack said, giving Sky an option that didn't involve having to see Bridge's empty bed.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay." He said.

"All right." Jack said. Sky sighed and made his way back to base. Jack watched him leave before going off to find Dori. He soon found her sitting on the ground by one of the back lawns of the base, her back against the wall of the base. She sat with her knees up against her chest, wiping at her eyes. "Hey." He said. Dori looked up at him, startled. She placed her hands on the wall and pulled herself up to her feet quickly, as if she wanted to just climb up the structure.

"What do you want?" She spat out.

"Oh someone's just a little hostile." He commented. Dori just looked at him.

"You are such a jerk you know that?" She questioned before shaking her head and turning to walk away.

"Wait!" Jack replied, grabbing her arm.

"I said, leave me alone!" She screamed. She grabbed his hand with her free hand and flipped him over her shoulder. His weight and height caused some awkwardness and instead of throwing him to the ground, she threw him against the wall. Dori gasped once she realized what she did and stepped back, expecting to see him slumped unconscious against the wall. But he was nowhere to be seen. Her brows furrowed as her head whipped from side to side, wondering where he went.

"You know, that wasn't very nice." Came Jack's voice. Dori gasped and looked at the wall. Her eyes widened at what she saw—Jack calmly walking out of the wall as if it was just a door. Dori's faced paled as he approached her.

"But.. I...wall... you..." She mumbled as Jack stopped right in front of her. He looked her in the eyes and smiled. "How?" She whispered. Jack grinned. Her reaction was exactly like the one Z had when they were young and she saw him use his powers for the first time. Of course, he then had that reaction when she showed him hers.

"Just a lil thing I can do." He supplied with a shrug. Dori blinked and looked at the wall before looking back at him. She took a step back, a cold mask gracing her features.

"Too bad." She said in an icy tone. "It would've been cool to see your skull crack open." Jack quirked an eyebrow.

"My, aren't we vicious." He remarked.

"Sorry, I reserve my kindness for people who aren't scum." She replied without missing a beat.

"I am not scum." Jack said, offended.

"Right. Which is why you've been oh so nice to me since I got here. Oops, that's a lie." She replied, jabbing her finger in his chest. Jack grabbed her finger.

"Don't poke me." He said.

"Oh, what'cha going to do about it, big man?" She asked, snatching her hand away. Jack simply glared at her. She scoffed. "I thought so." She walked past him towards the lawn. Jack glared at her. He then caught sight of the panel on the wall of the base that controlled the sprinklers to the lawn. He grinned broadly as he walked over to the panel and flipped a switch. Dori shrieked as the sprinklers surrounding her suddenly came to life and she was drenched. She quickly stepped back to get away from the water, only to have Jack flip another switch which made the other set of sprinklers come to life. Jack then flipped all the switches, making it so that Dori had no safe place to run. Dori caught sight of him through the sheets of water, leaning against the wall, smirking at her expense. Jack then reached over and turned off the switches, leaving her standing in the middle of the lawn, dripping from head to toe, fuming.

"You…….." She growled. Jack laughed as he pushed off the wall and walked over to her.

"Thought you needed to cool down a little." He said. He reached behind her and took a hold of her ponytail. He tightened his hold, wringing out her hair a bit. "Try not to drip too much in the base, k?" He said before walking away. A fire arose in Dori's eyes as he walked to the back entrance of the base. She snarled as she took off after him and tackled him to the ground. Jack instinctively flipped her over so she landed on her back and he was on top of her. She hit his shoulders, which Jack remedied by holding her arms down by her wrists. Dori grunted as she struggled and wiggled beneath him.

"Get off me!" She demanded.

"Not until you calm down." He replied.

"That's rich. You be a total ass and then tell me to calm down when I react." She replied, still struggling. "Get off me or, I swear, I'll scream." She grunted out. "How do you think that's going to look, hmm? Everyone comes out here to see their precious red ranger holding down a defenseless girl. I wonder if they'll lock you up in a cell, or just toss your ass right out of here?"

"I'd hardly call you defenseless." He replied, starting to find it a little hard to hold her down, but showed no signs of releasing her.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." She said. She opened her mouth to scream. Any sound was muffled by Jack's lips, which were suddenly on hers. Dori was shocked by this, and frankly, Jack was surprised by his own actions. He had intended to just keep her from screaming. His logic being that he couldn't very well use either of his hands seeing that if he released either of her wrists, she'd most likely use it to hit him. But now, with their lips slowly moving against one another's, he wasn't quite sure what was in his head. Suddenly Dori started to make a noise. It wasn't a noise of pleasure or anything, actually far from it; it was more like she was trying to tell him something. Jack slowly opened his eyes and pulled away and looked at Dori. She peered back into his eyes for a moment, before violently shoving him off her.

"What... What do you think you're doing! You just can't go around kissing people!" She exclaimed.

"I…….." Jack began, unsure where to go from there. He blinked and shook his head, his senses returning. He quickly scrambled to his feet. "Don't flatter yourself." He said. "It was just to shut you up." Dori fixed him with a smoldering stare as she pulled herself up to her feet. Jack quirked an eyebrow at her. "I do believe I felt you kissing me back." He said. Dori's eyes narrowed into thin slits. In a lightning quick movement, her foot connected with his shin. "Owwwww!" He exclaimed.

"God you're an ass." Dori commented, turning away and starting down the hallway away from Jack. Jack groaned. He limped after her and grabbed her arm, making her turn around. She snatched her arm away. Jack sighed and looked at her sincerely.

"Look, about what happened, maybe-"

"I'm chalking it up to a freak accident. I'm not telling anyone, and you'd better not either."

"Dor-"

"If you don't mind, I've got mail to deliver." She said. Jack blinked.

"It's your day off." He replied. Dori chewed on a corner of her lower lip.

"Yeah, well, figured I'd help out anyway."

"Yeah.." Was all he said. Dori walked off, muttering angrily as she wrung out her wet sleeves that now had grass stains on the back of them. Jack watched her enter the building and sighed.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

High above the Earth, Morganna peered down on the earth, glaring as hard as she could. No matter where she looked, she saw no signs of the green ranger.

"Where is he?" She whined.

"Morganna." Came Broodwing's voice as he entered her quarters. She turned quickly. "What is this I've heard of you _losing _your little pet?" He sneered. Morganna's eyes narrowed.

"What business is it of yours, Batty?" She snarled.

"Oh none." He mused carelessly, strolling about the room. "I just wonder what Grumm will say when he finds out you not only captured a ranger without his knowledge and converted him to evil, but you actually managed to get the ranger to leave you. My, my, I shudder to think what he might do." Morganna growled.

"What do you want?" She asked, figuring he was trying to blackmail. He looked at her. If he had lips, he would have smirked at her.

"Want? Dear girl, you have nothing I want." He said, and with that he left the room. Morganna watched his retreating form with narrow eyes.


	12. Awake and Dreaming

AN: Hey guys! I bet you guys thought we forgot all about this story. Nope, we were just dealing with life, new projects, and a little bit of writers' block. But, we are back! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

---

Sky entered his room, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he made his way to the bed. He sat down on the edge of his bed and leaned forward to take off his shoes when his eyes fell on the empty bed across the room. The green sheets and blanket were neatly laid on the bed, just like Bridge had left them the morning before he had been taken. The corners were tucked in very meticulously. Sky smiled gently as he remembered trying to teach his spacey roommate how to do military corners, a talent Sky's own father had had him master by the time he was six. Sky's face fell slightly at the memory of his father, and then even more when he realized that Bridge wasn't going to be sleeping in his bed anytime soon. He'd been kicked out of the infirmary, so he couldn't stay with Syd, and Z... Well he knew that'd be a loss cause of even trying to get her to say something. Sighing, Sky stood. Maybe he'd take Jack up on his offer. He made his way down the main corridor of the academy and came to a stop in front of Jack's room. He paused when he remembered that the bedroom doors only opened by voice recognition of the occupant of the room. He sighed, resigning to the fact that his only sanctuary was inaccessible.

"Sky," came a voice. Sky turned to see Jack coming towards him. Sky snickered and tried to hold in his laughter at the sight of the red ranger—covered in grass stains, slightly damp.

"What happened to you?" Sky asked as Jack came to a stop beside him at the door. Jack looked down at himself and sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Don't ask," he said. He looked at his friend. "What's up?" He asked.

"I thought about taking you up on your offer," Sky said. "My room's……" he paused, clearing his throat, fearing he'd get emotional. "Got too many memories," he said. Jack shot him a sympathetic look, nodding. "But uh, since I can't mimic your voice or anything," Sky said, mustering up a half smile. 

"No problem," Jack replied. He turned to the door. "Open," he said. The metal door gave a soft hiss as it slid open, reveling Jack's room. "Come in," Jack said as he walked in. Sky followed. Sky glanced around the room as he walked in. It was a deep crimson like color, with band posters, as well as car posters hung around the room. Clean and simple.

"I'll be out of your way in a second," Jack said, tearing the blue ranger from his observing of the room. He saw Jack standing by his dresser, opening up one of the drawers and pulling out a neatly folded red shirt.

"I didn't peg you for being so……..organized," Sky said as Jack removed his stained shirt and let it drop to the floor before reaching for the clean shirt.

"I'm not," he said as he pulled the shirt on over his head. "It's all Syd's doing," Jack said. "She just kind of……._suggested _that it'd be a good idea for the leader of the team to have a clean living environment," Jack said with a smile, stressing the word 'suggested' to imply that Syd had more demanded this, instead of suggest it. Which wouldn't come as a surprise to Sky.

"Right," Sky said, taking a deep breath. "I almost forgot you guys w..are so close," he said, catching himself as he almost referred to her in the past tense. Syd was not a past tense, he reminded himself.

"Yeah," Jack said. He looked at Sky. "You know it wasn't like that…..I mean-"

"No," Sky said, shaking his head. "No, I know that now," he assured his friend. 

"Good," Jack said. "You know that girl's only got eyes for you," he said, giving his friend a smile. Sky looked at Jack.

"Somehow, I doubt that." He muttered back. Jack shot him an incredulous look. 

"Sky," he said. "You know she loves you," he pointed out. Sky sighed and nodded.

"Yeah……from you and Z…….it's just…….." Sky sighed and looked down, letting his voice trail off.

"It doesn't feel real yet, because you haven't heard it from her," Jack concluded for him, understanding the reasoning behind his doubts. Sky nodded. 

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Sky replied. They were silent for a moment.

"So tell her." Jack commented. Sky rolled his eyes before giving a rueful chuckle.

"Right, Jack, I'll just magically wake her from this coma she's in and proclaim my undying love for her," he spat out. He sighed and looked up to see Jack's expression—a mixture of hurt and annoyance. "Sorry, I shouldn't-"

"It's okay," Jack said, dismissively. "You're tired and stressed, I'd probably bite your head off too if the girl I loved was in that condition as well as my best friend being apparently brainwashed into doing evil's bidding," he said. Sky gave a wry smile.

"Jeez, when you put it like that, I wonder why I haven't taken a leap off the top of a very tall building yet," he muttered. Jack chuckled gently. 

"Anyways," Jack continued. "The worst that can happen is that she says no." He finished. Sky gave him a sharp look, which caused Jack to quickly put up his hands in defense. "But she won't!" He quickly added. "Syd really loves you, man," he said in all seriousness. "And hey, _she's _normal." Sky tilted his head.

"As supposed to someone who isn't?" He asked. Jack sighed and picked up his discarded wet shirt, idly gripping and twisting the material in his hands. Sky bit back a smirk. "Dori?" Jack blinked, his hands freezing as he looked at Sky.

"How did you-"

"Because the only girl that could make a guy this frustrated is a girl he has feelings for," he said, speaking from experience as he thought about all the times he'd rolled his eyes in Syd's direction. Jack shook his head.

"It's** not **like that," he said. Sky gave him an amused look.

"Oh?" He replied, unconvinced. 

"I'm only frustrated because it's obvious she's hiding something," Jack said, going into a mild rant. "I mean, am I the only one who finds it a bit suspect that Morganna seemed pretty fixated on her the first time we saw her? And how now, she won't even step off the grounds of the base? And how she's situated herself here?" He paused and looked at Sky, expecting him to agree but only saw his friend looking at him with that amused smirk.

"Right, you're not interested in her," he said. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Whatever man," he said, deciding to change subjects if Sky wasn't going to agree with him. "Get some sleep," he said. Sky nodded as he made his way to Jack's bed.

"Thanks," he said, grateful that Jack was giving him a brief break from thinking about Bridge's absence and seeing his green comrade's unused bed. Jack nodded and left the room to give Sky his rest.

---

A few minutes after Jack left Sky to sleep; he headed down to the infirmary to check on Syd. He entered her room to see Dr. Felix looking over her chart. Jack approached the half man/half feline with a hopeful expression.

"How is she doing?" He asked. Dr. Felix looked up with a slight start, having not heard the red ranger enter before giving a small sigh.

"Well, that depends," he said.

"On?" Jack asked.

"If you believe in the saying 'no news is good news'," He said. Jack sighed and sat beside his blonde friend. "Miss Drew suffered a fair amount of injuries when she was hit by that blast," he went on to explain. "The fact that she's survived them is good in it of itself, but beyond that there's no telling when she'll wake up," he said, understanding that the red ranger was eager to have what was left of his team up and running. Though he himself was not a ranger, he knew that if Sydney were to regain consciousness, it'd certainly boost the moral around the base and make the rangers positive in that they'd be able to recover Bridge. And of course Dr. Felix could understand it was difficult for Jack, Z and Sky to see their friend in this state.

"I see," was all Jack could say. As much as he tried to embrace the perspective that Syd's condition could've been much worse and she could've died, it did little to ease the pain of seeing one of his closest friends lying there like that. "Thank you," he said, his eyes landing on Syd's pale and almost lifeless face as he took one her hands in his. Dr. Felix nodded gently.

"I'll leave you to visit with her in peace," he said before quietly exiting the room. Jack sighed and looked down at Syd. It broke his heart to see her like this. Sydney Drew was always full of energy, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders as they reflected her bubbly and bouncy personality. The being lying on the hospital bed in front of him was not Syd. It was without her rosy cheeks, the hair limply lying on her pillow bereft of its life and bounce. Jack hated the tube sticking out her mouth, connected to the hissing ventilator that was breathing for her. Syd shouldn't have a machine making her breathe. It was against the full of life nature she embodied.

"Syd," he said softly. "Come on, Pinkie, you've got to wake up,' he said. "We all need you, especially Z and Sky," he said, thinking of how Z, much like Sky, was reacting to the current climate in the team. Sky was dealing with the absence of Bridge, his friend and roommate, and Syd, the love of his life. Z was dealing with the absence her friend and roommate in Syd, and her love, Bridge. Jack did not envy them in the least bit and couldn't blame Z for spending most of her time curled up in her bed in tears, when she wasn't letting Dori fill the void that Syd's coma had created. Jack sighed and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. 

"I need you too," he admitted. He wanted his friend back. The person he shared his birthday with. The person who was his second sister, the heart of his team. "Who else am I going to share a cupcake with when your…..our…….birthday comes around again?" He asked with a small smile. He stared at her for a long moment. "So, here's the deal," he finally said. "If you wake up right now, I promise you can get the bigger half of the cupcake next time," he said with a slight grin. He stared at her, as if waiting, expecting her to open her eyes that very moment. But all there was was the continued hissing and pumping sounds from the ventilator and beeps from her heart monitor. Jack sighed, closing his eyes that were filling with tears. He slowly released her hand and stood up. He couldn't stay there any longer. It hurt his heart too much to see her like this for too long. He sighed and slowly made his way to the door. The metallic door in front of him gave a small swish sound as it automatically opened, had the sound been any louder, it would've been successful in masking the small gasp and choking sound that arose from behind him. Jack paused, unsure if he had actually heard something. A few seconds later, there it was again, a small gagging sound. Jack spun around to see Syd's previously prone and motionless form, shaking her head against the pillow. 

"Syd?" He whispered before quickly going back to her side. He saw her thrashing her head back and forth, trying to rid herself of whatever foreign object that was stuck down her throat. Her eyes were squeezed shut with tears collecting at the corner as she panicked slightly. "Oh god, Syd," he said, quickly sitting back down beside her and taking her hand in his. At his voice and touch, Syd's thrashing ceased as she slowly opened her eyes, only to whimper and shut them again. Jack reached for the button on the wall by her bed, dimming the lights. "It's okay," he soothed. Syd slowly opened her eyes again and sighed, grateful for the lights no longer being painfully bright. She blinked and looked at him, her eyes holding her fear and confusion.

"It's okay," he said again. "You're…….you're okay," he said, giving a small grateful laugh. Jack looked around trying to find Dr. Felix.

"I'll be right back." Jack assured her. Syd whimpered again as her fingers closed around his hand, giving him a pleading look. Jack looked down at her, returning her squeeze with a reassuring one. "I need to get Dr. Felix," he said. Then, as if Syd had magically made it happen through her fear of being abandoned, the door hissed open as Boom walked in to pay a visit to the pink ranger. Jack looked up at him. "Go get Dr. Felix!" He quickly hollered, causing him to jump back in surprise, raising his arms up as he scrambled not to fall over from shock.

"Uh….yeah….sure," he quickly muttered before running out of the room. Jack returned to his seat next to Syd's bed.

"Just try and relax." He soothed. Syd closed her eyes as she tried to relax around the tube down her throat, tempting her to gag and throw up. Jack squeezed her hand as he felt her shudder slightly. "It'll be okay. Just try and hold out a few minutes longer." Syd opened her eyes and gave as much of a nod as she could manage. The door hissed behind him as Boom returned with Dr. Felix in tow.

"What is it?" The doctor asked as he neared the bed, expecting the worst. He paused as he saw Syd's blue eyes staring up at him. Dr. Felix's eyes widened slightly at the turn of events. Not but ten minutes ago he was expressing not knowing when she'd regain consciousness, and now, here she was, awake…….and scared.

"The tube…it's choking her," Jack said worriedly. Dr. Felix nodded.

"That's a good thing," he said softly. "It means she's breathing on her own and doesn't need the ventilator," he informed. He looked down at Sydney and carefully removed the tape on the side of her mouth that had been holding the tube in place, causing the young girl to whimper at the discomfort. Jack squeezed her hand again. "Hold still." He told Syd as his hands covered the tube sticking out of her mouth once the tape was all gone. "When I tell you, cough and it'll make it easier to come out." Syd went to nod but realized that'd go against his order to stay still so simply gave an affirming hum. Dr. Felix nodded and looked at Jack.

"Mister Landors," he began. "I need you to hold her shoulders down to make sure she doesn't move involuntarily," he said. Jack nodded and slowly let go of her hand as he stood up and firmly held her shoulders down before giving the doctor another nod telling him he was ready. "Alright, on my count. 1...2...3, cough!" Dr. Felix commanded as he began to pull on the tube. Sydney coughed per his instructions, allowing him to swiftly remove the tube. As the tube moved from her throat, her body screamed, wanting to shudder, gag. She strained against Jack's firm hold. Once the tube was out, she lay, collapsing weakly on the bed, panting and coughing. She felt Jack let go of her shoulders as one hand took her hand and the other gently stroked her forehead. Dr. Felix looked at Syd before turning to Boom.

"Grab some water and a cup." Boom nodded and grabbed the pitcher of water that sat on the counter by the door as well as one of the cups by it. He quickly poured some water into the cup before going to run to the bed, only to trip over his own feet and stumble, spilling the water on the floor. "Boom!" Dr. Felix groaned.

"Sorry, sorry," Boom quickly said as he refilled the cup and brought it to the bed, this time walking very carefully. Once he was close enough, Jack took the cup from him with one hand while his other arm snaked under Syd's shoulders and pulled her up slightly as he brought the cup to her lips.

"Take small sips," Dr. Felix advised her as Jack tilted the glass. Syd took a small gulp and waited as the water slid down her scratchy throat. She gave a weak cough as her dry throat became reacustomed to the feel of cool liquid. She took a few more sips before Jack set the glass down on the table beside her bed. "Very good," Dr. Felix said as Jack lowered her on the bed. Syd closed her eyes, sighing a bit.

"What happened?" She asked her voice hoarse. Jack looked at the doctor before looking back at her.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Jack asked. Syd paused, taking a moment to think. Her eyes snapped open as she fought to sit up, fighting against the soreness in her body. "Oh god, where's Sky?" She asked, panic lacing her voice. Jack quickly held her at her shoulders, keeping her from jumping out of bed. 

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Jack said.

"No, Sky…….I have to get to him…..where is he!" She demanded. "Morganna was going to shoot him….." She said. Jack sighed and sat beside her on the edge of the bed, hugging her gently as she tried to fight him off and get out of bed.

"Sky's fine," Jack assured her, making her look at him. Jack let go of her and took her face in his hands, making her look him in the eyes. "You took the hit for him and have been in a coma ever since," he explained. Syd blinked as she shook out of his grasp and looked at Dr. Felix, who gave her a nod. "He's getting some rest in my room," Jack informed her, making her look back at him. Syd closed her eyes as she heaved a relived sigh before slumping against Jack's shoulder. Jack put an arm around her shoulders. 

"How do you feel?" He asked her. Syd sighed.

"Sore," she said. "My chest…..head…………pretty much everything but my eyebrows…..hurts," she groaned.

"I'll get one of the nurses to administer a mild painkiller," Dr. Felix said. 

"Mild?" Jack gave Dr. Felix a skeptical look.

"Strong then," the doctor said. He placed a hand on Syd's shoulder. "It's good to have you back, Sydney," he said, giving her a small smile before leaving the room. Boom looked at the two, his face breaking out to a big excited grin.

"I'm going to go get Kat," he said, going to the door. "Oh and Commander Cruger……..and…Z……..and…..." Syd and Jack watched and Boom tripped out the doorway. Syd sighed, groaning slightly. 

"There's going to be a crowd in here, isn't there?" She asked. Jack chuckled.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't get the whole base in here," he said, laying her back in bed and tucking the blanket around her.

"Thank you," she said. Jack smiled and placed a small kiss on her forehead. 

"I'm glad you're okay," he said before leaving to find Boom. Syd sighed, closing her eyes. She opened them again at the sound of the door hissing as the nurse came in and went to one of the IV's in her arm. Syd watched her as she carefully injected a painkiller into the IV, looking at the girl carefully as she did so.

"This should help you feel better," she said, giving the girl a small smile. Syd returned the smile and nodded.

"Thank you," Syd replied. The nurse just smiled and walked away. Syd closed her eyes as she felt the pain killer taking affect. Dr. Felix had certainly kept his word about the medication being strong. Within minutes she was feeling good. Really good. She gave a content sigh as the drug kicked in, giggling gently. 

"Well, someone's feeling good," she heard a voice say. She opened her eyes to see Z standing by her bed. Z tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she sat down on the chair Jack had abandoned not to long ago. Syd turned her head to look at her, her face in a wide grin.

"I feel very good," Syd said, her words slurred slightly from the drug. Z smiled and gently stroked Syd's forehead.

"Jack came to my room and told me you were up while trying to stop Boom from announcing the news to people all the way in G Squad," she said. Syd giggled. 

"Sounds like our Boom." Syd replied, still giggling. Her giggles ceased as she heard Z sniffle as her head fell to the bed, her hair tickling the side of Syd's arm. She bit her lip to keep from giggling. "Z?" She asked softly, the only answer she got was the sound of Z's soft sobs. Syd closed her eyes as she fought to lift up her arm in her current drugged state, it felt like she had a fifteen pound barbell attached to her wrist. After some trying, she finally was able to lift her arm and place it on Z's head, running her thumb along her friend's dark tresses. "Why sad, Z?" Syd asked. Z sniffled again as she slowly lifted her head up, causing Syd's hand to fall to her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eyes. "I've just……..I missed you, Syd," she said. "With Bridge……and you……I just…..it was too much,"

"Bridgey," Syd sighed as the situation concerning him came back to her fogged mind. There was silence for a few moments as Syd recalled what had happened. "We'll get him back," she said slowly, trying to keep her head clear as she spoke. 

"I hope so." Came Z's muffled reply. Syd closed her eyes.

"We will," she said softly. "We just……" her voice trailed off as she found herself getting sleepy. "Just……..need to make him remember….." she yawned, "us….." Z looked at her roommate.

"Just try and get some sleep... We'll find Bridge when you're feeling better." She replied. Syd nodded softly as she slowly drifted off to sleep. Z smiled, letting out a slow breath. She wiped at her eyes as the door hissed open.

"Is she okay?" She heard someone ask. She turned to see Sky, looking a little disheveled and bleary eyed, standing by the door and eyeing Syd carefully. "Jack said she was……but….." Z nodded and slowly stood up.

"She's just sleeping," she said. "Sit with her," she said, stepping away from the chair to let him sit. Sky hesitated for a minute before shuffling over and taking Z's formally occupied seat. He stared at her for a moment, as if he was unsure what to do next. "You can touch her you know." Z commented. Sky gave her annoyed look.

"Thanks," he said, "but I don't need any coaching or anything," he said. Z smiled and put her hands up in peace.

"Sorry, you just look a little lost," she replied. Sky rolled his eyes. "You know, Jack said when she was awake, she was really worried about you," she said with a smile. Sky looked at her, an unsure look in his eyes.

"Really?" He asked. Z nodded.

"Really," she replied. Sky looked back at Syd. "I'll leave you two alone," Z said softly as she walked past him and left. Sky barely acknowledge her words or departure as his hand reached over and slowly took one of Syd's hands in his. He heard Syd give a soft sigh in her sleep. He sat beside her in silence, gently rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Sky…." He heard her mumble in her sleep. Sky froze, unsure what to do in that moment. A part of him wanted to get up and run, fearing she was waking. Another part wanted to stay, hold her close _because _she was waking and he wanted to look into her clear blue eyes and tell her everything—how he felt, how he'd missed her. 

"I'm here." He finally said after a moment's silence. Syd sighed and turned in her sleep, curling towards him. Sky briefly worried that her movements would pull at the IVs in her arm, but saw that she had enough slack to turn to her side. Sky took his free hand and gently brushed her hair away from her forehead. He stared down at her, watching as the color that had been absent the previous times he'd seen her, was returning to her complexion. He heard her give a soft sigh before her eyes opened. Sky went to sit back, afraid that his close proximity would catch her off guard and frighten her, but was stopped when her hand tightened around his. 

"Don't go," she said softly. Sky nodded as he kept his place leaning towards her, mere inches away from her. 

"You should be sleeping," he said. Syd gave a wry smile.

"I think I've done enough sleeping already," she kidded. Sky smiled softly.

"But you need your rest." He replied. Syd shook her head slightly.

"I'm okay," she said. Sky stroked her hair.

"Yeah, you are," he said, his tone slightly edged with awe and wonderment at seeing it for himself. Syd smiled gently before pausing.

"Z was here before, right?" She asked. "I didn't imagine it from the drugs, did I?" Sky chuckled softly.

"She was here," Sky said. Syd nodded, satisfied with his answer. "How are you feeling?"

"No pain, thankfully," she said. "Not as loopy as before…..although I am seeing three of you," she said, partly joking. Sky chuckled. Syd smiled.

"Three's better than one." Syd nodded.

"Yeah," she said. She looked at him. "Are you okay?" She asked. Sky gave her a gentle smile.

"I am now," he replied. Syd smiled.

"Good, I'm glad." She said, closing her eyes and sighing, enjoying the feel of Sky's hand in hers. Sky stared down at her. Even with her lips slightly chapped and her hair limp, she was still as beautiful as ever. She was awake, she was okay. This was all Sky had wanted all this time. Especially after what Z and Jack told him about her feelings. 

"Syd," he said softly, making her open her eyes and look at him.

"Hmm?" She asked, giving him a questioning glance.

"I...there's something I want to…..to tell you," he said. Syd nodded, waiting for him to continue. "I…….." he paused, whatever confidence seeing her awake had been able to gather up fading. "I……….I'm glad you're okay," he said lamely. Syd blinked.

"Um, thanks?" She said, slightly confused. She was slightly disappointed since his tone and his expression seemed to have implied that he was going to say something else. Deep down, she had hoped it would've been that he had for her the same feelings she felt for him, but she knew that wasn't the case. _Why would Sky ever want you? _She thought to herself. 

"Yeah, you're welcome," Sky replied. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. Sky sighed and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the door hissing open as Kat and Cruger entered the room. Sky quickly slid his hand out of hers, causing Sydney to give him a surprised and disappointed look.

"How are you feeling, Sydney?" Kat asked, giving the girl a smile. Syd looked over at them and gave them a small smile.

"A little tired of answering that question," she replied. Kat gave a small chuckle and nodded.

"It's good to have you back, Cadet Drew," Cruger replied.

"Thank you sir," Sydney said. Sky cleared his throat and slowly stood up.

"I'll see you later, Syd," he said softly. Sydney blinked before slowly nodding as she watched him leave. Sky gave a brief nod to Cruger and Kat before walking past them and out of the room. As soon as the door had hissed shut behind him he felt a hand grab his shoulder. His head snapped to look to see who'd grabbed him and saw it was Jack, giving him a bright smile.

"So?" He said.

"What?" Sky asked.

"Did you tell her?" Jack asked. Sky paused, biting his lip.

"Uh….no," he replied. Jack's smile faded as he gave him a confused look.

"Why the hell not?" He asked. Sky shrugged his shoulder, shaking Jack's hand off.

"It wasn't the right time," he lied. "I figured I'd let her……..get back on her feet first….." he explained. 

"You chickened out didn't you?" Jack demanded. 

"What? Of course not!' Sky insisted. "I just didn't want to…….overload her. She just woke up from a coma, Jack."

"Gee, really?" Jack hissed. "I was there. And you telling her what she's been dying to hear for years………probably ever since she met you……..would not overload her." Sky sighed.

"I just.." Jack shook his head.

"No, get back in there and tell her." He replied.

"I can't, Commander Cruger and Kat are with her," Sky said.

"So?" Jack replied. Sky rolled his eyes.

"I'd rather not have an audience," Sky said. "Leave me alone, Jack," Sky said, walking away. Jack sighed and jogged after him.

"Okay, fine, I'll let you use the Commander and Kat as an excuse now. But the next time you're alone with her, you tell her," he ordered. Sky glared at him.

"Listen man, just because you're the red ranger doesn't mean you're the boss of me," he said. Jack grinned.

"I thought that was exactly what that meant," he replied. Sky rolled his eyes and kept walking. Jack sighed and figured to leave Sky alone for a while.

"All right, fine, do it whenever you're ready," he called after him. Sky simply gave a dismissive wave behind his back and kept going. 


End file.
